Collar
by Silent Magi
Summary: In Konoha there is only one rule that you have to know... Dominate or be dominated. Naruto Uzumaki is a young master starting out on his journey into a world where a collar and leash are stronger than any jutsu. Rated for content.
1. Chapter 1

This story is partially inspired by Collar 6 an awesome webcomic by S. Wallace, and a few odd ideas that I had sitting in the wings. It's rated M for content, most of which is original, some Collar 6 concepts were borrowed and used where appropriate.  


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Naruto sighed heavily as he leaned back against his apartment wall, letting his mind wander back to the master test he had just failed. He needed a slave, but nearly all of them were claimed by the Uchiha. The testers had given him an indefinite extension on collaring a slave, but to do so he was listed as a Free Target until he collared a slave of his own.

What that meant basically was that until he got someone to wear his collar, he was free game for every master and mistress out there. Not that many of them wanted him for their own, but a few had already made attempts on him. It appeared that his years of playing pranks had served him well, in that not a single one had been able to catch him before he made it to the safety area of his apartment. And with several ANBU guards watching over the place, it was relatively safe.

Relativity is such a curse sometimes.

He knew for a fact that the Free Target program, established by Danzo was a one way ticket to hell. First there was the simple fact that Hinata-sama had offered her own little sister as her trained slave at the exams, something that had pissed off the observer Neji-sama to no end. Second there were the rumors of the ROOT dungeon that haunted the slave class, a place where the rules and laws governing slave rights did not exist, and any slave sent there would come out nothing more than a slut. A broken, useless being with only the most basic of social functionality.

Pushing off the wall he decided to make the most of the mandated 10 hours of safety he had. A cup of ramen later and he was stretched out on his bed, trying to get the four hours of sleep he needed to be at his best in the morning. If he was able to skip out before dawn, the Danzo supporters shouldn't be able to catch him as he emerged. After all, they couldn't catch him after the sun goes down, until it rose the next morning. He could get a head start on the capture squads during those hours.

That night his dreams were interrupted as he emerged in a dank, foul smelling sewer. Wandering around he found a large caged off area with a glowing pair of eyes looking down at him. "**Well if it isn't my master...**"

"K... Kyuubi..." Naruto muttered in shock. The greatest of the tailed demons, the one killed by the Fourth Supreme Master himself Minato Namikaze, was sitting in a cage right before him, calling him master. Okay, the crazy train can stop now, he'd like to get off.

"**Indeed, it is I Kyuubi! Forced to live inside you forever... Your bitch of a mother left me chained on top of being caged. The whore's little parting shot I suppose...**" Kyuubi snarled as he tugged against the chains currently holding him back from the cage walls. "**And now I have to deal with her little bastard son... Please tell me you're not interested in being a master... you would be a delicious little meat slave...**"

If Naruto hadn't been previously interested in being a master, he sure as fuck wasn't going to allow this ugly as sin piece of shit consider him being a slave. "Shut up slave, I'm your Master and you're going to listen to me or I will leave you chained up forever!"

"**Get a brain, you meatbag! I'm already fucking chained up forever as long as you draw breath! Try threatening me with something that actually might matter...**" Kyuubi snapped while pulling against the chains preventing it from devouring the flesh pod in front of the cage containing it. "**I should have expected nothing better from such a pathetic waste of flesh as you...**"

"Pathetic... PATHETIC! THAT'S IT!" Naruto snapped as he slammed his fist into the cage door. "You want to make me angry... Well... if this is a dream or not... it's still MY mind... and that means I'm in control..."

For the first time in a few millenniums Kyuubi was surprised as the area around it was first ripped clean of bars and chains. In fact Kyuubi was standing alone in the middle of an open barren area, but before it could act, something happened to it. It began shrinking, its furs shedding off it, only to disappear in thin air. By the time it was done shrinking she was bare naked, and human with a collar around her neck marking her as Naruto's property. "**W...what have you done? I... I'm going to kill you!**"

Before she could even get close to the blond she was blasted by balls of black, which wrapped over her body in layers of latex three inches thick, causing even the strength of Kyuubi to falter and hold her in place. As around her various implements of torture and torment appeared from nothingness, she was raised into the air, chains snaking around her body as though they were alive. The chains formed a harness over her latex clad form, and then latched itself onto the corners of a cage that appeared out of nowhere again.

As the cage settled on chains supports that ran to a ceiling high above, Naruto was surprised as a masked female appeared between them clad in the garb of a High Mistress that walked over towards the bound form of Kyuubi. "You look a whole lot better like that... Who's the whore now, slave?" the woman whispered softly as Kyuubi stiffen. She turned to look at Naruto and bowed her head towards the young male.

"Welcome Master, I will serve you in training this little slave..." the woman answered while rubbing her hands over the latex clad woman. "I must say I approve of your tastes..."

"Uhh... t...thanks... who are you?" Naruto asked curiously while forming nose and ear holes on the latex for Kyuubi, while adding in ears and a tail. It seemed like a good idea to tease her with something that she'd lost in his fit of rage.

"I am... unimportant, just know that I am your loyal servant, and I will train Kyuubi into an ideal little slave for you..." the woman offered while stroking over where the eyes and mouth on the suit should be. "If you wouldn't mind... please free these two areas..."

Naruto shook his head before waving a hand across the room, the vague shapes he had summoned before the latex blinded the Kyuubi started solidifying into actual implements he'd seen during class. A square shape turned into a rack of paddles and riding crops with a flayed flogging whip hanging off one end. An 'X' off to one side was turned into a cross-form rack with clamps for the wrists, ankles and mid-section. Several others were given solid, tangible shape before Naruto turned to Kyuubi, and the mistress that was offering her services to him.

"Now... how do I give you power to act as my agent here Lady?" Naruto asked curiously as he reached over and wiped away two eye holes, and traced a zipper into place over the mouth, still firmly in the zipped closed position.

"Y... you want to give me power over your mind? That is a dangerous game..." the woman answered, her mask hiding most of the shock, with a small shrug she decided to answer him. "Think it and it shall be done good Master Uzumaki..."

"Very well Lady," Naruto stated with a smile as he summoned hair on Kyuubi's head, turning it a burnt orange like she had as a monster fox. "You are to act as my representative... any action against me you take will cause a failing in your powers, as well as... a punishment..."

"Very wise indeed Master Uzumaki, I shall serve you to the best of my abilities... now you should awaken Master..." the woman answered with pride apparent in her voice. "I shall work on her while you are away."

Naruto smiled at the woman and nodded his agreement. "Thank you Lady... as for you Kyuubi... enjoy your new slavery... even if I can't claim you as mine yet... I will never let you free."

As Naruto faded from view, he caught the briefest sight of pepper red hair spilling out from behind the mask, swirling out into a dangerous aura. Once he was gone the masked mistress unlocked the cage and pulled the kitsune out. "Oh how much I wish I could have done this when I was your host Slave..."

A jerk of chains had Kyuubi being forced over to the rack against all will she could muster to fight against them. Perhaps she hadn't thought out her taunting of Naruto as well as she had previously thought, and knowing this new mistress, she was going to regret every minute of it. Letting out a panicked whine as she was clamped down facing the rack, her arms and legs being pulled out until she matched the shape exactly. She could almost swear that she heard the mistress purr softly as the sound of leather being unfurled filled her ears.

"You're mine now... and every last dirty word you ever spoke about me, my husband, or my son will be repaid! Now you are nothing but a slave, and I... I am the mistress..." The woman whispered softly into the former fox demon's ear softly. "That... that is all you need to know..."

If anyone else had been in the room, they would have heard the crack of thunder brought about by a whip tearing open the layers of latex with ease, and slightly muffled howls of pain through the still zipped latex covering the fox-girl's mouth as the Mistress got her revenge on the beast that had insulted her so much when they had last met. But no one did, and even if they could have... no rules were being broken, so they would have left the mistress to punish the unruly slave.

Naruto for his part woke up in his apartment, just before the alarm he'd set beside him could go off. Stopping it from ringing, he pulled himself up off the ground and walked in the dark to his bathroom. A cold shower later, he was ready to face the day. All he needed to do was get to the Supreme Master Mountain Dungeon and ask Sarutobi about what he'd just witnessed. It sounded like something out of those Master Space legends he used to read when bored of homework.

Maybe he could get out of town for a few days while he was at it.


	2. Chapter 2

The Stone Monolith, or Mountain Dungeon to Naruto, was a secret lair for only the highest ranking Mistresses and Masters to see, outside of being bound and gagged into service as a slave to the Supreme Master. Few people that walked through the iron bound gates at the base of the mountain walked out of there without a collar about their neck. That's why Naruto was going through the small shack entrance at the top of the mountain.

The long, boring, and almost tedious elevator ride down from the top of the mountain to the first layer of the dungeon was only compounded by the terrible muzak that played lightly out of the speakers. Oh yeah, once he became the Supreme Master, he was changing that music to something not mind numbingly moronic. Arriving at the first layer, he walked through the dimly lit dungeon, seeing all the empty shackles lining the halls, while every empty room punctuated the need for someone to fill this area with the moans of their slaves. "Hey Jii-san? You around? I need to talk to you..."

"In here Naruto-kun..." Supreme Master Sarutobi answered from the room he used as an office. Naruto picked up his pace and got to the office as fast as he could. The last room on the left was the one Sarutobi had taken over and that's where Naruto found him with his feet on the back of some hooded slave that knelt before him. "What seems to be the matter Naruto-kun?"

"Hey Jii-san... well it's like this... I had this weird dream that sounded like those weird Master Space legends you told me about..." Naruto started, before stopping as Sarutobi's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull. "Annnd... I'm guessing you know about Kyuubi then..."

"I... was unaware that it would allow you in until after you claimed the master title... and I had meant to discuss this with you before then..." Sarutobi answered before taking a calming puff from his pipe, setting the bowl into an ashtray held by a slim tube going to the slave's mouth. "Tell me about your... 'dream' Naruto-kun... have a seat too..."

Naruto settled into a seat that seemed to be molded from a few of the bustier slaves in Sarutobi's collection, leaning back against the padded pillows that replaced the chests, Naruto sighed and began the tale. Sarutobi seemed surprised at the mention of the strange woman, and looked suspiciously knowledgeable about her when the young blond mentioned the activities of her red hair. After a moment's silence Sarutobi let out a sigh and shook his head. "I cannot tell you much about what is going on... but I suspect 'Lady' as you have named her could not be a better choice in training Kyuubi."

"Oh? Umm... yeah, so... she's not a bad person like Danzo?" Naruto asked nervously, just realizing how much he could be screwed if she was.

"No... she would never do anything to hurt you. If she offers you lessons, learn as much as you can from her. Also, I think you should talk to her more once Kyuubi is more tamed..." the wizened Supreme Master answered while stroking his chin in thought. "Is there anything further Naruto?"

"Well... I thought if I was going to have these weird dreams for a while, I should get out of town until they were done... or I'm more used to them..." Naruto answered while scratching the back of his head. Shifting in his seat he sighed heavily and shook his head. "But if this really is a master seal on my body... I shouldn't be alone..."

"Why don't you go with Lord Master Kakashi while he checks out reports of violations to the free trade agreements in Wave? I'll even get his agreement to not collar you while on the mission. Who knows, you might even find yourself a little slave of your own..." Sarutobi offered warmly while pulling up a file folder from a bin next to his chair. "It should be safe and easy, so I'll only pay you for a one crop mission..."

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized just what was being offered to him. A fully sanctioned Master's mission before he even had his first slave. This was unheard of before! And he would be paid a master's wage for it... So sweet.

"That'd be awesome Jii-san! Thanks!" Naruto exclaimed happily while resisting hugging the Supreme Master, after all, neither of them were into guys, and Naruto'd grown out of the phase where such hugs were acceptable. After he'd settled down, his mind triggered another question that he'd always wondered about on his arrival to the Mountain Dungeon. "Why is this level always empty?"

"Oh... that? You'll find out after you bring your first slave here... That's the deal," Sarutobi stated calmly with a warm smile on his face. "Now how about we go meet up with Kakashi down at the level three gates?"

The trip down to level three was short, and they stopped off in a room long enough to pick up a supplies scroll, which Naruto was told was his to keep. Opening it, Naruto found it had a prankster's wet dream of supplies ready for him, along with a massive load of kunai, shuriken, and several master's tools. Oh, yeah, this was going to be great! Tucking the scroll into a set of clips on his belt he finally met the Lord Master Kakashi with the half asleep Tanzo at the gates. It seemed that they were ready to go, waiting only for him. "Who's the brat? He looks like he's going to slow us down..."

Before Naruto could snap back a reply, Kakashi cleared his throat and Sarutobi answered. "He is one of my most prized pupils, that I have supreme faith in will bring about a swift completion to this mission..." Naruto felt a blush burn his cheeks as Sarutobi praised him, making it seem more like he was the private apprentice of the Supreme Master instead of some Master that just barely passed his trials.

The trio set off, Naruto smiling as the Sun warmed his face, and the echos of displeasure filled the air from the other side of the mountains they had just left from. It seemed that the Free Hunters had just found out that he wasn't home, and probably getting told from the ANBU guards that he went on a Master's mission. Oh they were probably livid, and would take it out of his hide if they ever caught him, before he collared a slave.

Not like he'd let them collar him, but it was nice to be wanted he supposed...


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto was pleasantly surprised when he fell asleep into a dungeon hallway instead of a sewer. Walking down the halls, he smiled as his footsteps echoed down throughout the entire area. Getting to the main dungeon, he found Lady was sitting in front of a bound and gagged Kyuubi riding a bondage horse riding up between her now bared lips. The masked mistress was eating a well-done steak in front of the bound fox woman.

"Hello Lady, how's it going?" Naruto asked as he walked up next to the mistress currently teasing the former fox-demon. "It seems that you two are adjusting nicely..."

"Oh Naruto-sama... I was just stopping for a few to have some dinner... would you care to join me?" Lady answered with a smile from behind her mask, which made Naruto wonder how she was eating the steak, but decided against asking. "I think that she will be ready for me to train you on soon... Well... at least she's not as fond of bad words any more..."

Naruto settled in and waved off the offered steak, not being hungry at the moment. He looked over the bound fox-woman a little closer, noticing that her eyes were forced open and foxus on the steak in front of her. "No thank you... I just came to check in on you two..."

"Oh that's so sweet, thank you... As you can see we're perfectly happy here... at least I am..." Lady stated before slacking the chains that hung at her side, causing Kyuubi to settle further on the horse with a moan. "I think it's time for your first lesson... you are human, but your slaves are too. Try to avoid acting in anger when you can. Haste may cause you to regret your actions later... isn't that right Kyuubi?"

"**Go screw yourself, you know you loved exploiting my healing factor for all it was worth K...**" Kyuubi started before Kushina's stroking of a flogger caused her to cut herself off with a whimper. Naruto frowned as he watched the fox-woman's actions.

"I think she's being a little too uppity... let's change her name... what was it she called me? Ah yes... Fleshbag..." Naruto mused thoughtfully as he stroked his chin in thought. It didn't really sit with him as proper though, so he felt something else was needed. "Maybe just kitsune or something... What do you think Lady?"

Naruto could almost swear the face on the mask broke into a predatory grin as she stood up and walked over to Kyuubi, reaching up and pulling down on her collar. The added pressure to her nether lips caused the bound woman to let out another moan as a shiver rippled over her body. "Very good Master Naruto... a fitting name for her... after all, she's no longer the nine-tailed godhood of abomination that she once was, now she's just a one-tailed kitsune in a slave's hood... Oh how deliciously fitting..."

As Lady turned away Naruto saw a new tag with the word Kitsune stamped on it dangling from the front loop of the collar. "And I must commend you for not choosing a name out of anger... I know how tempting it must have been..."

"Well I think this is better... since she's no longer Kyuubi-no-kitsune... but instead just a kitsune..." Naruto stated while chuckling softly, "Not even a single tail to her name... isn't that a shame? To have fallen so far, and yet, she remembers her former glory..."

Naruto turned to walk out as Kyuubi growled darkly, her rage building until Lady smacked her across the ass, causing her to let out a scream that seemed a strange mix of arousal, pain, and rage. "Keep up the good work Lady, maybe someday she could earn a tail..."

"Oh... I think she has a long... long time before that's possible."

Naruto woke up the following morning before the Sun rose again, his eyes adjusting to the dim light of the embers from the campfire. Sitting up slowly he rolled out the knots in his neck and found his eyes meeting up with Kakashi's good one. "Morning..."

"Hey there... sleep well?" Kakashi asked lazily while Naruto woke up his still tired body.

Naruto sighed heavily as he shook his head slowly. "I feel like I overslept... How long was I out?"

"Five hours..." Kakashi answered with a slightly mystified tone to his voice. He added a log to the fire, letting it catch before he settled down on a pad of his own while closing his good eye. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep... since there's still another eight hours before dawn."

"Sure Kakashi... I'll keep quiet..." Naruto answered while looking at the steadily snoring trader that had done nothing but complain for the entire previous day. Oh, how he would like to have taught him some manners, but Kakashi suggested that he try it without the whips and chains this time. And so Naruto worked on being polite and guiding the nearly perpetually drunk trader into being more social. He'd had moderate success after blowing up the booze, not that he'd been caught doing it mind you...

The snapping of a twig caught Naruto's attention and forced him to focus on the surroundings. There was just something off about the area, and he knew that someone was out there. An evil smirk spread over his face as he slipped into the darkness. Something inside him caused him to focus points in his lower back, nine points that he couldn't figure out why they were specified. Finding two people he crouched in behind a tree. "There's the trader... let's capture him and kill the other two..."

Oh that was just the right trigger, he snarled as a red cloak surrounded him and nine lengths of chains shot out of his back binding the two in tight, nearly suffocating cocoons. "Well... that was useful..." Naruto mused as he walked out of the woods, into the campfire area, where Kakashi was waiting for him alert and at the ready. "Sorry about that Kakashi... I didn't even think to wake you up..."

"Uhh... yeah... don't worry about it... who're your friends?" Kakashi asked curiously as he pointed at the two breathing mask wearing men currently held in his chains.

"I dunno... didn't get their names, just that they were going to try and kill us... You wanna ask? I'm still kinda new to all this..." Naruto offered lamely while pointing at the pair that were now leaking fluids out the bottom of the chains. "OH COME ON! NOW I HAVE TO WASH THEM!"

"Let me take them off your... chains... for you..." Kakashi offered as he pulled out chains of his own. Naruto simply shrugged and set them on the ground, cutting off the chakra flow to the chains, and to his surprise separating them from his body instead of making them disappear. "Thank you... I'll go... talk... to them..."

"Have fun... I'm waking up Tanzo and asking him some questions myself..." Naruto answered as he turned to the sleeping trader. After Kakashi left, Naruto only had one thought enter his mind... This was going to be fuuuuuun...


	4. Chapter 4

Getting answers out of Tanzo was a lot easier than the captured duo... or at least that's what Naruto thought. Especially since Naruto only had to tie Tanzo down to a log and break out a paddle before he started singing like a songbird about Gato, Wave, the opression, his unhealthy fascination with feet, the shoe size of everyone in his family, and the names and addresses of every girl in the village that was on the market and their preferences. Fortunately Naruto was able to sort through all the excess to get to the immediately useful information.

Some of the rest he just filed away for future use, after all he was a hormonally normal boy. And while he was waiting for Kakashi to arrive from questioning the duo, he listened to Tanzo crying for mercy and screaming out any information he thought Naruto might find useful. He was half tempted to paddle the trader just to shut him up already.

Kakashi returned halfway through the telling of Tanzo's life story, tucking two black scrolls with the Konoha seals into a lacquered box. "Didn't expect to be using these today... I only brought a handful just in case something went mildly wrong..."

Pausing he seemed to finally notice that Tanzo was going on about something or other. "So... did he give you any particular reasons why some mercenaries are out to kill us? Or was he just useless?"

Naruto sighed as he pulled himself up from where he'd been resting against a tree. "Mostly useless... he did mention some conglomerate mogul named Gato locking down all of Wave's shiping, while he's building a bridge to the mainland..."

"That sounds like a illegal group moving into the area... I hope it's an illegal scroll group, those are easy... but it sounds more like a black market for slave trading..." Kakashi grumbled while settling down next to the fire, pinching a nerve on Tanzo's neck to shut him up in mid-word. "They move in, seal off the lines of trade, and then jack up prices on everything until they have to sell their children off to afford food and other essentials..."

"That's horrid..." Naruto growled, his eyes taking on a red hue as he thought of forcing families to sell off their children whether they wanted in the lifestyle or not, just so the others could survive. That wasn't right, that wasn't what this was about... that was... was...

"Just like in the dark ages... slaves stripped naked and paraded about for public auction right in front of the family. Worse still the illegals only give the family a marginal amount... probably enough to afford food for a week," Kakashi explained while pointing to a spot across the fire from him. "Sit down, calm down, and listen... we might have to fight other masters when we get to Wave, so I want to be sure you know what to do in a Master's Duel."

Naruto sighed and settled into the indicated spot, a quick scrub of his face and a search of his memories pulled up the information he'd read about after being kicked out of class for breathing too loudly. "Master's Duels... is a combat between two masters in which the wagered stakes are usually slaves chosen by the opposing masters prior to combat. Any and everything can go in such duels, but it is frowned upon to kill the opponent unless they've broken the code. In which case all properties they owned are given to the victor, usually after a small Justicar's fee when officially sanctioned..."

"Good, it seems you're familiar with the general rules... we're going to be fighting unsanctioned master's duels most likely. Which means it's not just our properties on the line, but ourselves as well. I'm going to count you as my sub-master for the rest of this mission... that means in duels you can not only aide me, but fight in my stead..." Kakashi explained with a heavy tone of voice, his eye looked distant and unfocused for a minute, before returning to sharp focus on Naruto. "Now... I only have a few minor slaves with me... and my dungeon's deed..."

"I... I have my apartment's deed and... myself..." Naruto answered after a moments pause, and Kakashi's subtle hand wave to find what Naruto owned. The look of pure shock on Kakashi's face would have had Gai proclaiming that Naruto would be his eternal rival from that moment forth... but thankfully we dodged that bullet.

"You're kidding right?" Kakashi asked dryly as he stirred the fire slowly, at Naruto's sheepish look, Kakashi debated trying to strangle Sarutobi, before remembering that this was supposed to be a no-combat mission. "Guess not... We'll try and keep you out of combat as much as possible."

The rest of the night was spent planning out the rest of the journey. Thankfully for the both of them, the next day was uneventful, and Naruto got to sleep first. After all, he only needed four hours, unlike Kakashi that wanted to get at least six. As expected he arrived in the dungeons where he'd always found Kitsune and Lady waiting for him. The rose petals on the approach were a nice touch, as were the wall sconces lighting the way.

What he found curious was the small fact that Lady was sitting back, watching a strange device he didn't remember leaving here when he left. You'd think he'd remember a padded table with two ankle shackles, chest straps, and entire arm binders. All of which were currently holding Kitsune down while she squirmed painfully around with a swollen stomach and a plug firmly between her cheeks. "Do I want to ask Lady?"

"Oh, she was being a little problematic... so I am correcting it for her... she has another ten minutes to go... Something on your mind Master?" Lady asked with a casual indication of Kitsune.

"Yeah... I did something strange today, and wondered if you knew anything about it..." Naruto started, before explaining the fight he'd gotten into shortly after his last departure. "Anything you can figure out about it?"

Naruto noticed that Lady was strangely silent, while shifting nervously in her seat. Kistune seemed to be snickering behind the ball gag that was currently silencing her. "I remember once meeting a family of Masters and Mistresses that could do something like that. They were from the country of Whirlpool, the clan Uzumaki... I suspected you might have been related to them, but I couldn't say until I was sure... I'm sorry."

"It's okay... I can just get trained from them I guess..." Naruto answered with a shrug. "I just wanted to know more about it..."

"See... that would be difficult as you are the last one alive..." Lady stated softly, while wrapping the boy into a hug. "I can try to help you train if you'd like, as I saw them in action."

Lady broke the hug and walked over to Kitsune, who was still snickering behind the gag, at least until Lady pressed down on the distended stomach firmly. Then her snickers turned into moans of pain as the added pressure reminded her of her current punishment. "And what made you think you could laugh like that?"

"Just make sure you don't do anything permanently damaging to her, okay? I've grown fond of Kitsune..." Naruto ordered while stroking the bound woman's cheek lightly, wiping up a slight trail of drool while he was at it. Petting her head lightly, he smiled at the glare she was shooting him. "She is rather cute... isn't she?"

"Oh yes... yes she is... especially under all this lovely latex..." Lady answered while pinching Kitsune's nipple through the latex suit. Changing her tactics she took and stroked the lovely curves of the lovely little foxy woman bound to the table. "I promise that I won't break her... but I will push her to her limits."

"Is... is there a way I can talk to you without having to fall asleep? I mean it's useful being able to learn from a skilled mistress such as yourself, but... sometimes I figure I'll need to ask you questions that I can't wait until bedtime for..." Naruto asked curiously as he caressed the poor girl's ass cheeks gently, flicking his fingers over the plug teasingly.

"We will see... I will do what I can to contact you while you're awake..." Lady answered after watching Naruto play with the still severely pained bound and gagged Kitsune for a few minutes.

"Speaking of which... it's time for me to wake up..." Naruto countered while he felt a subtle tug on his body, alerting him to the end of his sleep cycle.

"Until tomorrow Master..." Lady said as she took a firm hold on the plug and prepped to yank it out, right before Naruto vanished.


	5. Chapter 5

Well... that could have gone better, Naruto thought as he collapsed in the room Kakashi and he were borrowing from Tanzo. First some sword swinging psycho with compensation issues flung a blade easily longer than Kakashi was tall at them. Then the psycho showed up wearing his puffed-out pajama pants. And enough belts to put your average Justicar to shame.

And the oiled skin... oh god why couldn't he forget the oiled skin?

So Kakashi and he got into this huge fight, with whips, water, paddles, water, blades, water, lightning, water, fire, water, and did he mention WATER yet? Cause there sure was enough of that sloshing about, zipping through the air like crazy. Then again, what could he expect from a rogue Master out of the Mizu no kuni?

Land of Watersport more like it!

Speaking of Justicars, just as Kakashi was about to lock Zabuza into a scroll, one of them from Mizu arrived to arrest Zabuza. There was something about her that bothered him though. She had the right outfit, and the black scrolls on her belt looked official. But once she sprang away with Zabuza the feeling of something not being right settled into his gut and began gnawing away at his mind. He just couldn't place it.

Pulling out one of his own scrolls in thought, he finally figured out what it was. "There were no seals on it... they were just black..."

"Noticed that did you?" Kakashi asked from where he had been laid out after using his Sharingan eye for so long. "So... that means..."

"We're not done yet are we?"

"Not likely... and I'm in no shape to pick it back up..." Kakashi mused while staring at the ceiling above him tiredly. "I don't even have the energy to release a couple of slaves to help out around here... We're going to have to get you some training... but I need to think about it tonight... Get your four hours of sleep in, and then keep watch or something, just let me rest."

"I'm not ready to go to sleep yet..." Naruto answered while levering himself up off the ground. "I think I will see if I can't find out more about the situation here while you rest... I'll keep my gear with me... but I'm going to try and just slip into the people..." Pulling out his scrolls he flicked his wrist and was lost behind the swirl of parchment and chakra. When they disappeared Naruto was standing before Kakashi in the rattiest, most dingy clothing anyone could imagine.

"Not bad Naruto... take care and don't get caught..." Kakashi ordered tiredly before passing out.

Naruto smirked as he slipped out of the room's window, securing it shut with a master's seal after he got through. Anyone trying to force their way in was going to be in for a rude surprise when they were bound in a large rubber bouncy ball. Satisfied that Lord Master Kakashi would be safe and secure for the time being.

It was far easier than he imagined to disappear into the crowds, keeping his head down and just blending in came almost second nature to him. All he needed now was some local to talk to... Okay, the line of naked youths tied together by their necks were out. As were the obviously rich foriegners looking them over. But... there, that girl right there... she was looking with pity on the slave line. She could be the right one to help him out. He just had to talk to her.

"Excuse me ma'am... Do you know someone there?" Naruto asked curiously while settling in next to her. After all, she seemed to be local as well, if just a bit cleaner than most, and that would be a likely guess for why she was watching the slave line with pity, and Naruto could see just hints of disgust, and fear in her eyes.

"W...what? Oh no sir... I... I'm familiar with lines like these..." the woman his age answered while reaching up to rub her neck nervously. "I'm Haku, and you are?"

"Naruto..." the blonde offered, smiling warmly as he observed her quietly. "I'm glad you escaped your line... they're kinda disgusting aren't they? Treating people like nothing more than flesh bags..."

Haku's eyes widened as Naruto's voice took a hard tone, turning to follow his eyes to where the sign posted that the auction would be next week. "A true Master would show these filths the end of a whip... or bring in a Justi..." she whispered before she realized what she had said. To her relief Naruto seemed to have completely missed it while he judged the line before them.

Naruto for his part was silently agreeing with Haku about that assessment, his hands twitched to go for his flogger, and hunt down the slime Gato that was running this ring. But he had to play the part of a local, not the Master right now. There was several things he took in about the line, but the one thing he failed to notice was Haku's soft brown eyes looking into his, and seeing the true power the short blonde held. It was daunting, dominating, and... magnificent...

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Naruto asked suddenly, and the dominant entity that she'd seen was gone, replaced by the curious man that had started talking to her. But she could see it still lingering in the back of his eyes, behind the mask of curiosity.

"I was just saying, I wish someone would do something..." Haku answered softly as she pulled back into the shadows. Naruto walked with her, keeping her shielded by his body as much as he could. He felt that she needed to remain away from the line as much as possible. She was a good target to be taken into the line and sold to the highest bidder without someone watching out for her. She'd already been through it once before, and that's more than enough.

Haku was thinking about the dominant feel Naruto gave off, oh how she wished she could have that type of power. But she couldn't submit to him, not now, not ever. She had her mission, and he was the enemy. He hadn't broken any of the rules, so she couldn't act against him but she could use him. "I should get the herbs I was looking for..."

"What herbs are that?"

"Uh... Flame root, and lung wart..." Haku answered, getting surprised when he didn't look completely lost at the names of the plants, in fact he looked more like he was deep in thought.

"I think I saw good ground for them to the north of town, there's a corpse of pine trees that you can see from the southern grove, they're usually a good signal of the ground they prefer," Naruto explained while guiding the girl out of town towards the north. "I'll help you get some..."

For some reason, Haku couldn't even figure out a way to get Naruto to leave her be. In fact it felt nice that she was staying with him, it was safe, warm, and comfortable. She also knew that he would protect her, should any of those slavers attempt to come after her. A small smile spread over her lips as she realized just how nice it was to be with Naruto as they looked for the herbs.

The rest of the trip was spent in companionable silence as they wandered in the woods. Naruto was deep in thought about what he'd seen in town, and the deplorable conditions those slaves in line were in. Half of them looked starved, one of them had a split lip that was still healing, and most of them had whip and cut marks over their bodies. He had to report this back to Kakashi so they could plan their next move.

Haku on the other hand was thinking about her own mission, and how Naruto was making it harder by just being himself. Not an evil, heartless Master that would sell their slaves for laughs. Why couldn't he be evil? That would make it so much easier to know that she would have to break him for Master Zabuza. Maybe... maybe Master Zabuza would allow her to keep him as a slave of her own?

Haku was surprised when Naruto reached down and clipped the flame root with his two fingernails, after all, it had a thick wooden stem, and he pinched it off like it was butter. "H... how..."

"Oh that? The stem segments, so if you pinch it right above that, it'll pop apart easily," Naruto explained while pointing to the part of the plant that he'd pinched off, barely showing any stress at all. "It's all about knowing the the pressure to use, and the right time to act... not too hard, and not too soft..."

Naruto turned to look at the sun curiously, before he sighed and shook his head. "I have to go... I hope your friend gets better soon."

Haku blinked as Naruto ran off, finding herself having only one question to ask. "H... how did he know about Master..."


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto found it a bit more than a little irksome arriving in the dungeon again, he'd like to have normal dreams again. Like maybe that one about him, a bowl of ramen the size of a Olympic swimming pool, and a harem of cute girls sunning themselves around him as he swims. Now he just had to go talk with Lady and Kitsune, maybe he'll stick around for a little longer this time.

He found Lady locking the cage of Kitsune, leaving her floating in the middle of the iron barred off area, being suspended by chains. At least he thought it was Kitsune being bound in that inflated latex suit, with a large air-filled tail dangling down limply. "Giving her some time off are we Lady?" Naruto asked with a smile as the mistress locked the cage close.

"Yes Master Uzumaki, she has been good in her training today, so I'm giving her a rest..." Lady informed him, slipping the key behind her mask with ease. "Is there anything you wish of me sir?"

"Walk with me... I'd like to have a look around today..." Naruto suggested while waving to the doorway that had formed since the last time he was here. Over the top of the arch was stylized script which read, '_There's a new submissive born every minute. - M.N._'. Something about that phrase just drew his attention, and made him want to see what was inside.

For the first time he'd heard Lady make a sound that didn't give off the aura of control and command that she'd always had since they'd met. Giving her a moment to regain herself, he pressed on, letting the question of what she'd seen to cause the slip fade into the back of his mind. Instead he arrived in one of the strangest rooms he'd ever seen before.

It was barren, save for a lavender egg, and a chocolate brown egg. Walking over to the two eggs, he tenderly stroked each one, hearing a soft musical moan coming from under his fingers. "W...what are these?"

"Submissive Spirits that want you to be their dominant..." came a response from behind him, causing him to whirl on his heel and stare in shock at the man that stood before him. White latex body suit with matching cape and mask, all trimmed on the bottoms by red flames. Even as he watched, the figure knelt down before him, in an act of supplication. "Greetings my creator... I am your Master's Spirit... I have chosen a form based off the master you most admire, The Fourth Supreme Master of Konohagakure, Minato Namikaze."

"Uhh... yeah... where'd Lady go?" Naruto asked cautiously, knowing that the more voices in his head, the less likely it will be to pass his next guild mandated psychological evaluations. "And do you have a name?"

"The one you refer to as Lady is unable to enter here... I am sorry, but it is the rule of this chamber," the spirit answered, still having not risen an inch from his spot. "As for my name... I suppose that Naruto would be redundant... but I believe you have a name for me..."

It took a moment, but Naruto's frazzled psyche finally came up with the name for the personification of his Master's Spirit. "Arise Flash, and tell me more about this chamber..."

The so named Flash rose from his kneeling position and in a sweeping gesture indicated the entire area. "This realm is yours to craft as you see fit My Creator... As you had with the chamber housing Kitsune, you may do with here as you will, but the eggs cannot be tampered with during their stages..."

"Stages? Are they like cocoons on a caterpillar or something?" Naruto asked gently running his fingers over the two eggs lightly, letting their melody fill the background emptiness to the room. Slowly his hands stopped and he looked down at them in thought. "I shouldn't be touching them if that's the case..."

"Oh no My Creator, no, they are yours to touch as you please in this stage... you just cannot puncture them, nor view the contents until you are ready. The next stage, when you are ready for it will limit what you are able to do, as the Spirit will be especially fragile at that point..." Flash explained while walking over to stand next to the master of the realm. "As I am your manifestation here, I will act as your second in command, and monitor the status here..."

"That's... cool..." Naruto murmured before stroking the two eggs again gently. "I want to protect them... they're calling out to me..."

"Yes My Creator... as their Master you are the one they love, the one they trust above all others..." the flame licked spirit explained while summoning up a chair to sit in out of the nothingness. "I should warn you... the Submissive Spirit is... different than you might expect My Creator..."

Naruto stopped his stroking of the eggs and looked over at the seated version of himself curiously. He'd not expected much at this point, maybe seeing the person that belonged to the egg when it hatched. Slowly the pieces began falling into place as he figured things out in his mind. "They're going to be what they desire to be... not what they are to the outside world... aren't they?"

He could almost see the smile from Flash through the mask as he nodded. "That is correct My Creator... very astute..."

Naruto seemed more intent to rub and play with the eggs of the Submissive Spirits in his care. The melodies of beautiful moans created such a wonderful song that he couldn't help but love it. "Any ideas who they are?"

"No My Creator, I have no knowledge of their names, but I have a suspicion about the brown one..." Flash answered while indicating the one he'd mentioned. "I must commend you on your deft handling of the one named Haku earlier... it was a masterful awakening of the submissiveness in her."

"But I didn't, did I? I mean I just talked to her, and helped her find those herbs and stuff... I didn't do anything like they taught us in class..." Naruto asked in confusion as he leaned against the lavender egg gently, drawing forth a moan of pleasure that sent shivers up his spine.

"Feh, those fools that are in charge of teaching you masters these days... remember what a true master is... Defender of their slaves, love of their lives, bringer of their hopes and dreams. You have awoken more than you know my young friend, and I look forward to seeing more..." Flash countered with a tone that let Naruto know just how big of a smirk he had on his face.

"But if they're teach..." Naruto started, only to get cut off as he woke up to find Kakashi staring down at him with a baleful eye.

"Hey kiddo... I've got the training picked out... you're going to learn how to duel," the Lord Master stated dryly as he started staggering out, looking like a man that had a few too many drinks. Letting out a heavy sigh, Naruto sat up, looked at the clothes he fell asleep in, and just shrugged. They would do as well as any other he'd brought along.

Once they were outside, Naruto followed his teacher on his wandering, dizzying path out into the depths of the forests. Maybe he needed a little more rest before he passes out somewhere. Once they arrived at a clearing, Kakashi pulled out a red sealed scroll and waved it so Naruto could focus on it. "This... is a scroll of summoning for Justicars. Your opponent today is five of them. You either catch them, or they catch you. Have fun."

Kakashi flicked out the scroll and five Justicars popped into the clearing, each identical to the last. Lots of latex, leather belts, and red leather whips. Naruto didn't wait for them to get a bead on him, his first move was one that had always served him well in the past. Disappering.

One minute the ladies were eying him up for a size seven scroll, and the next he was gone. If any of them got him, he would likely end up their slave for life. Hiding in the trees he smirked as he summoned forth a couple handfuls of chains. This was going to be interesting.

This was going to be interesting, thought Haku as she watched Naruto beginning his training. It was nearly a perfect opportunity Those fake Justicars provided her the perfect, delicious opening that she just had to exploit. So when one of them wandered away from the pack, she stunned them with her senbon needles, and borrowed their mask.

A quick storage of them into a scroll later, with their spares being added to her belt. She was on the prowl for the blond that she was going to tame. His teacher... well Master Zabuza never loses.

Never.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: _I have been getting many reviews asking for longer chapters, and I would like to take this opportunity to point out a couple things. I do not cut off at a predetermined point each chapter, but rather where I feel the flow would serve best being severed at. I don't aim for 1000 words or anything of a similar nature. I have tried such in the past and found that that type of limitations only serve to frustrate and annoy me as a writer. So, I'm asking for you to please bear with the chapters as they come. Thank you for your patience._  


* * *

Naruto smirked as the Justicar he'd been watching let out a squeak and vanished into a scroll, her whip landing on the ground next to it with a whisper. This was awesome, he'd never gotten a lot practice doing this during the academy years, since most of the trainers kicked him out of the classes. He knew that any real Justicar would probably have been a lot harder, but this was exactly how the academy ran their training exercises, so he refused to be marked down for pussyfooting around.

Leaping up into the air, he counted the scrolls that he'd captured already. Four out of five in a matter of six minutes wasn't bad, but he knew that he had to do better. He'd have already been failed back at the academy, but it seemed that Kakashi didn't have the same grading scale as they did.

Springing off the tree branch, he was shocked when a black scroll wrapped around where he'd just been. Tracking back to the source, he was surprised when he found that whoever it was vanished from view just after he spotted her. He didn't think that he was facing this level of Justicar, but he wasn't about to let her catch him. It was on now.

Retrieving the two lengths of chain he'd been using to swing around the trees and tie up more than a couple of the Justicars until he could get his scroll deployed. It was time to utilize them for more entertaining means. His first step was to vanish again.

On the opposite side of the playing field, Haku was silently fuming, for the first time 'The One-Scroll Ice Princess' had missed. She didn't think she'd rusty since the Mistress training program had been closed down by the Grand Master of the town. She had been the prized student in the Justicar classes, and as such earned the highest asking price at the slave auction she'd escaped from.

It seemed that Naruto would indeed be a challenge, unlike she had originally presumed. A small smirk played out across her lips as she gave chase to the man that had become a preoccupation to her mind. She would capture him, and prove to Zabuza's leader that she was ready to become a full-fledged Justicar, and not just dress up for the role.

A few shots of freezing water were meant to trap Naruto's foot on the branch, trunk, or patch of dirt he happened to be touching at that moment, but each of her shots seemed to be just a half-second off. Oh yes, he would be an excellent capture indeed, and might prove to be a worthy training partner to keep her Justicar skills honed to a keen edge.

Leaping over a branch she faltered for a moment, finding him missing. A second later she heard the warning clinks of the boy's chains trying to encircle her, straightening out her body she slipped out from the trap, barely clearing the last strands of her hair in time. Oh yes, he was a tricky one, as there was no sign of the Master she was out to capture again.

Naruto panted from his hiding spot, having sacrificed one of his chains in the attempt to snatch the more skilled Justicar as she cleared the blind jump. It hadn't worked, but he hadn't entirely expected it to, as she was nothing like what the others were. Briefly he wondered if Kakashi had summoned a real Justicar instead of the training ones, or worse still a real one had cut into the training, but she was wearing the same mask that the others had been. So that meant that she had to be a member of the right group, correct? After all to steal a Justicar's mask... that was just asking for no ends of trouble, and even the stupidest of sluts knew better.

Sighing silently, he pondered his next move as he cataloged all the tools he had at his disposal. He had a length of chain, a dozen throwing knives, a couple matches, and ten old stink bombs that were just as likely to explode as to release the stink gases. But that could work... he'd just need something quieter than the chains to capture this one. And that's when he saw it, sitting there with an angelic glow about it, in the clearing he'd just abandoned not a full minute ago. A shiny red leather whip, which he knew would slice through the air with nary a whisper until it made impact. But he'd have to break cover to get it.

That's when the stupidest, most hair-brained scheme he'd ever imagined possible came to him. And since he didn't have a single other idea, he decided to go with it. A match strike later, the fuses on the smoke bombs were lit, and tossed into the area he'd seen her disappeared into. Sure enough three of the ten blew up instead of releasing a steady cloud of stink, but those three spread the cloud farther than he'd hoped them to originally, so it seemed luck was on his side today.

Haku gasped as three loud explosions sounded around her, making her worry that he'd broken out explosive tags, but when the when she realized she was fine, she instead focused on the blonde currently running out from under some bushes she'd passed by. Firing off shots of her ice blasts she tried to figure out what he was doing doubling back in such an obvious fashion. There was nothing that could save him now, and he should have known it.

Readying her scroll she took a few more pot shots at his heels, deciding to continue the game as long as she could. And as soon as she tried to shoot at his heel once it contacted with the tree, a body racking cough messed with her aim enough that she missed. What was that putrid, nausea inducing odor that had her doubled over in a coughing fit.

As her eyes were watering so badly she couldn't have seen her own feet, she relied on her other senses to keep track of the blond that had reversed her direction, coming at her again. Popping free her second scroll she wound back to deploy it, only to be forced to leap away as something struck the tree branch her feet were standing on. That's when she knew something was wrong.

Her ascent was curtailed by a circle of leather around her ankle she knew to be a whip's lash, and a sudden jerk had her descending rapidly, and she knew that she'd misjudged Naruto. Her fingers came into contact with a piece of paper, and she had enough time for exactly one thought before blackness claimed her.

'_I failed..._'

Naruto was currently bent over, trying to catch his breath after succeeding in capturing all five of the trainer Justicars. Now he'd just collect this last scroll once the air cleared, pick up his tools, and shove the other four scrolls sideways up Kakashi's ass. What the hell was he thinking slipping a high level Justicar in on the first training day like that?

Pushing off his knees, he began going around and collecting all the tools he'd used, starting with the chains, which went into his tool's scroll with everything else since he hadn't learned how to return them to his body yet. Not that he was complaining, just being able to summon and release them from his body would have been beyond what he'd thought he would be able to pull off back in the academy.

This was turning out to be an amazingly-super-special-awesome training experience for a single whip mission though, so that's why he was sparing Kakashi the fifth scroll. Besides he needed it as proof. This way he could get Kakashi punished properly for pulling such a hair-brained stunt. Speak of the devil, who should arrive just as he dislodged the fifth and final scroll's pin than the one-eyed pervert himself. "Maa... congratulations Naruto... you were faster than I expected... shall we review your results?"

"Yeah... let's..." Naruto snarled out, tucking the fifth scroll away and pulling out the other four, ready for anal insertion into one Kakashi Hatake, Lord Master of Konohagakure, master of over a thousand techniques, and avid fan of the entire Icha Icha series of novels.

He needed something to fill up the room his ego didn't completely crush out after all...

Kakashi gave him an almost serene eye-smile as he unraveled the scroll that he'd received once Naruto'd used his final scroll. "Uzumaki, Naruto: Master level 2: Training Masters at Rank 4. 5 Justicars were deployed, the defeat and capture of said Justicars at a time of seven minutes, fifty-two seconds is recorded. Additionally, the capture of Momi..." Kakashi read, pausing at the word as his eye nearly bugged out of his skull. Naruto watched as he read over the lines twice, before staring at Naruto as though the blond had just farted a rainbow.

Naruto paused in his planned punishment of his trainer, something about the "Additionally" line catching his attention. "What do you mean, additionally capturing someone? I only caught five people wearing Justicar masks..." Naruto groused petulantly as his revenge was ruined by someone's stupidity. After all, if Kakashi hadn't done it intentionally he couldn't really carry through with it, could he? Also, something else caught his attention from the beginning. "Wait, Master level 2? No way, I should still be a 4, maybe a three if I caught a slave... you sure you're reading that right?"

It was about this moment that Naruto's brain finally caught up with his mouth. "Wait a minute... additional capture... but if I only capture five... then that last one..."

"Was a real Master's duel Naruto..." a female voice spoke from the trees, causing both the blond and silver-haired masters to whip their heads around, just in time to see a Judgenatrix walk out from behind the tree branches. "One I was rather fortunate to observe..."

If it wasn't for the fact it was hammering out a beat on his ribs, Naruto would have been fairly certain his heart was lodged somewhere in the vicinity of his voice box. A real, live Judgenatrix had been watching his duel, and was impressed...

Kakashi on the other hand seemed slightly suspicious, until the woman jumped down and held out a black short scroll, which rolled out to reveal sanctioned orders by Supreme Master Sarutobi himself. And then he simply pulled out the lacquered box with the two masters Naruto'd caught the other day, and held it open to her respectfully.

The two scrolls disappeared from the box and into slots on her belt silently, before she turned to face Naruto properly. "If you would hand me the final scroll you used, please..."

Nodding numbly, Naruto handed off the other scrolls to Kakashi's waiting hands, and fumbled with the clasps holding the one containing the last prize. It took him half a minute longer than he'd have liked, but she didn't seem too overly annoyed at his fumbling. His hands shook as he held out the scroll to her, laying it flat across his palms to present it to her properly.

She didn't touch it, instead took several minutes to study it quietly before folding Naruto's fingers over it again and using a single finger to push them back towards Naruto. "A prized capture Master Uzumaki, Haku Momichi," the Judgenatrix stated from behind her complete face mask, pausing as Naruto's eyes widened at the mention of Haku. "Formerly of the Justicar training school in Kiri, at least until it was illegally closed along with all mistresses being deemed illegals. In recent years she has been illegally aiding a Master Zabuza Momichi in Master's duels as an unregistered Justicar. Her case shall... remain under review until such time as you arrive in Konoha again."

"I do ask that you retrieve the training Justicar that she captured before coming after you Master Uzumaki presently so she may return to the academy for retraining."

Naruto nodded dumbly as he tucked the scroll away, finally looking away from the woman long enough to look at the clasps he was struggling with. As the final one clicked into place, he felt a long, delicate, yet powerful latex-coated finger hook his chin and force him to look her directly into the mask.

A single red 'eye' stared at him from the field of white, and he could almost swear that she was searching for something deep inside of him. After a moment she released him, took a step back and gave them a deep bow from the waist. "A rare Master indeed you are Uzumaki, Naruto... A rare one indeed... I shall be following your advancement... personally."

As she vanished from sight with barely a whisper, Naruto knew that his life was about to go from merely insane to absolutely fucking crazy with a side of bat shit loco. Kakashi reacted first, kneeling to pick up a plain brown scroll that she'd left in her stead, with the word '_Orders_' written neatly on the outside.

Kakashi turned to regard the Master that had become a constant source of surprise over the past few days. He'd known the blond was something special when Sarutobi had praised him, all but calling him an apprentice, especially after it was revealed that Naruto was currently a target of the Free Hunt back home.

First had been the restraint with Tanzo and the dealing with the alcohol, then the capture of the sadistic demon brothers using a technique that Kakashi himself had only seen once before, the interrogation of Tanzo without a single blow landed, the rescue of Kakashi at the last minute in the first fight with Zabuza, and now not only had he won an officially sanctioned Master's duel without even knowing he was participating. But it had been his first solo duel ever, and it impressed a Judgenatrix.

Kakashi had only managed that ONCE, ONCE and he was a full Lord Master before it happened.

"Ki... no Master Uzumaki, you are something else..." Kakashi murmured softly to the still stunned blond, who promptly collapsed as his knees turned to jelly. Heck, he was certainly handling meeting a Judgenatrix for the first time better than most, after all... most wet themselves in terror.

As the poor mentally stressed blond departed the crazy train, on the happy-fun-fun pass-out land express, Kakashi could only whisper. "You are going to go farther than your father and mother ever could... and I hope to see every step of the way."

Speaking of, a nice rest was just what the doctor ordered for Kakashi, and so he straightened out the unconscious blond, and settled in under a nice shady tree, pulled out his favorite orange book and began reading. After all, a debriefing like this could wait until the poor kid was awake. He'd been through a lot recently.


	8. Chapter 8

Waking up in a large pasture was a bit different than from what he'd expected when he passed out, but it was a pleasing change from the dark dungeon corridors. The trio of figures sitting down at a feast with a massive banner that read "Congratulations" was a bit more immediate to his notice. Well, two were sitting, the third was currently kneeling in front of a pair of pet dishes.

"Lady... Flash... what's going on here?" Naruto asked, as if the answer wasn't completely obvious as the whiskers on his face. "Never mind that, let's just celebrate, I have a couple questions for you Lady..."

Naruto settled into a chair that had been left at the head of the table for him, while the other two took up flanking positions, and kistune knelt at the other end of the table, in full view of Naruto. "I take it you learned of my promotion?"

"No, but that makes this even more of a reason to celebrate! The brown egg hatched and you're now a full fledge Master!" Lady gushed while sliding over a huge bowl of ramen for Naruto to enjoy. Flash seemed to be beaming behind his mask as well, giving Naruto a few extra slices of beef steak.

"We can take a look later if you want My Creator, it is a rare hatching indeed, I think you will be very pleased with it," Flash added as he piled up his own plate with food, his own bowl of ramen steaming away merrily. Lady seemed to be happy to join in the male member's eating habits, piling up her own plate and having an equally loaded bowl of ramen.

Naruto sat in his chair, rubbing his chin in thought for a moment before he nodded. "Yes, I think that'll be good... but I suspect I know the spirit that has hatched... also... Kitsune... have some lunch..."

The former glorious demon of death and destruction was shocked when Naruto spoke to her, and even more-so when the two previously empty bowls filled themselves with cooked sliced chicken meat, and cool, clean water. After millenias of being stuck inside one host or another, and having nothing but chakra to sustain her, food was almost a foreign concept. Almost, but not quite, her eyes shone with an unspoken amount of surprise and gratitude, that had Naruto smiling warmly in return.

Unfortunately her pride stopped her from thanking him, and instead she merely bent over and began eating the chicken as she would have in her fox form. Naruto watched her eating for a few minutes, catching the slight smile of joy that crept into her smile at the corners. "We will have to train her in human eating habits I suppose... but she is being very well behaved... maybe it's time for..."

"For what Master Uzumaki?" Lady asked curiously as she lowered the bowl of ramen from her mask. Which Naruto was still uncertain of how she was eating through, but decided against asking about.

"Oh... I'm just thinking of rewarding her for being a good little slave..." Naruto commented off-hand, before scooping up his own bowl and slurping down a mass of noodles, broth, and toppings to stun Son Goku.

"A good slave would have thanked her Master," Flash pointed out with his chopsticks waving over to Kitsune casually. They lasted in that direction until he snatched up a piece of grilled vegetable happily. "But she has come far, maybe a reward is the proper step My Creator... Have you considered what you wish to give her?"

"I have a couple ideas in mind..." Naruto answered vaguely as he lowered his now empty bowl. He couldn't help but notice that Kitsune was paying attention to every word that was being said with a hopeful, almost pleading look to her eyes. It was fun playing with her like this, but he needed to stretch it out for a little longer. "But that can wait until after the feast, and the inspection of the egg room I think..."

"Of course My Creator," his Master's Spirit answered, realizing the game that Naruto was playing. The once mighty demon was now envisioning a lot of things that she thought humans would consider treats, having learned something of their thinking from her time spent in the human bodies. A casual glance over to the enigmatic Lady confirmed that she had her suspicions brewing as much as he was loathed to admit his own were. The young Master seemed to be a natural at stirring up trouble. Reaching out for the last piece of meat, he was surprised to find it missing. Or rather, he found it on the end of Naruto's chopsticks, entering his mouth.

Oh yeah, the kid was good.

The feast ended after a everything was eaten, and Kistune even got a second helping, this time of vegetables. And while they were letting it settle, Naruto decided to get some answers to questions he'd thought of during the day. "I was thinking, can I return the chains into me after they are out of me? I think it'd be easier to clean up after the fights... also can I form weights, spikes, hooks, or something to make them more useful? And different widths of chain would probably be good too..."

"I cannot answer those Master Uzumaki," Lady stated as she let out a heavy sigh. "I only saw them in use a couple times, but I suspect that if you train up your control, you should be able to do as you wish with them..."

"Quite so, control is important, especially with as much power as you have My Creator..." Flash agreed with a firm nod as he sipped some drink that Naruto couldn't quite identify. Kitsune seemed to be content to stretch out on the grass, enjoying the warm sun on her latex clad body, while Lady was keeping a careful eye on her. It amazed Naruto how well the former fox-demon was adapting to life as a human.

"I think it's time to go to the egg room... Flash if you'll lead?" Naruto stated while pushing himself up and away from the table. "Lady, if you will help Kitsune clean up and have her ready for me when we're done?"

The two spiritual helpers working for him simply nodded and went about their tasks. Naruto followed Flash through an archway of twisted vines, arriving in the egg room, which was now different than last time. For one, the brown egg was replaced by a caged Justicar, one that he felt was familiar for some reason.

This one had a few things different than any of the others he'd seen previously, the brown color of her body was the first major distinction, but then there was the the fact that she had a swirled circle mark on her collar with fox ears and a small fox tail sticking off the bottom. "My personal seal... How'd... I haven't even gotten it confirmed with the guild yet..."

"This is your mind... but might I suggest a slight change... you do not wish for a certain fox you're taming to get the wrong idea..." Flash suggested as the seal swirled and replaced the fox features with tongues of flame flickering around the outer edge. "The Will of Fire, born of an Uzumaki's heart..."

"That looks even cooler..." Naruto agreed as he leaned against the bars, studying the female that stood beyond, captured as though in the midst of taking off her mask. After a few minutes he frowned in thought. "That reminds me of the Fourth Supreme Master's seal..."

"Does it now? I must say that I believe that you have more than earned it... for example, the fine specimen you have captured here... by her skills I would say she is a Rank 2 or 3 Justicar..." Flash explained while indicating the woman in the cage. "They do not send them after Masters on a mere One crop opponents... in fact, most times you cannot face one of those down until you've reached the level where One Whip missions are the norm..."

"Really? I... I didn't think I had surpassed him... maybe I just got lucky? After all, she probably thought I was less of a challenge than I turned out to be..." Naruto reasoned, trying to keep his idol upon the pedestal he'd once put him upon.

"It is possible... but look at the marks, she has the marks of a Level Two minimal Justicar..." the spirit explained while pointing to the subtle whip shaped engravings on the upper left arm's belt.

"This is Haku's dream? To be a Justicar... I don't know if I can give her that..." Naruto mused while stroking the bar softly, missing her moans. Walking over to the remaining lavender egg, he smiled as she moaned softly at his gentle touch, teasing out a beautiful song that made his deepest heart a little happier with each passing second.

That's when he noticed something interesting on the other side of the egg. There was a small black egg with a tiny golden implant of his newest seal. "What's this?"

"That? That is... umm... I don't even know what that is..." Flash answered while kneeling next to the tiny egg. "I've never even heard about something like this..."

"So... what happens with Stage two for Haku?" Naruto asked, pushing the strange egg off to the side of his mind, focusing instead on things of more immediate importance. Well pushing it aside, save for putting it on his lap and petting the egg as it let out cute little purrs and moans.

"Stage two is a matter of you have become aware of her submission, or captured her... but have not accepted her as your slave yet. There are times when this stage is skipped, but it is important to know that there are cases where this stage is permanent. Also, remember that the key words for this stage is look, but don't touch."

Naruto frowned at that last part, before setting the egg carefully into it's holder and walking over to the cage housing Haku's stage two form. "Why is that? I can just reach through the bars and..." As he fit actions to words, a few things happened at once. The first was he was electrocuted, the second was that he was flung back, and the third is that he let out a few choice words about the pain.

"That's why... the spirit is opened to you, but you have to accept it in your heart before it's yours..." Flash explained after Naruto finally settled down from feeling like he'd been kicked in the kidneys... again.

"Ah... no touchy... got it..." Naruto muttered after he gained a standing position, his hair sticking up even more than usual. "Well let's go find Lady, and give Kitsune her presents..."

"As you wish My Creator," Flash answered, leading him back towards the way they came in, only to walk into the dungeon again. Instead of the implements of torture he'd grown accustomed to seeing on his arrival, he found instead Kitsune prostrate before a throne, with Lady standing off to one side, and Flash taking up his position on the other. "Welcome Master Uzumaki... we have prepared for the gifts..."

Naruto smirked at the level of pomp and circumstance they'd given such a minor thing, but he figured it was a major step for Kitsune, so maybe giving it a bit of flavor like this was just what was needed. Settling into his throne, he looked down at the naked woman before him, and realized that there needed to be more than he originally thought...

"You know... part of your new life is being a normal human and to learn that... I think a gift is in order," Naruto stated calmly as a black hobble skirt, wide inch-high heels, and a nice studded leather collar appeared upon the woman before him. "But you should never forget your former sins..."

As he said this last part, black-tipped fox ears pushed out through the burnt orange hair, flicking as feeling emerged into them, and a new realm of hearing opened to her. It hadn't even been a week since losing her former status, but she couldn't imagine how much her new human form had been limited in the realm of hearing. These were amazing.

And they were all thanks to the man she had called a meat-bag. Guilt and shame flooded into her as she lowered her head, and ears in submission, lacking even the normal growl of defiance she'd shown to this date. He... he had given her a second chance, not stolen her glory from her.

She might have been his slave, but she had never realized just how free she felt until that very moment.

She was his slave, he was her master, and she liked it that way.

"There you go Kitsune, now keep being a good girl, alright?" Naruto whispered, having gotten up from his throne and knelt next to her with only a whisper of noise. Even before she realized it, he was petting her and...

And it felt magnificient.


	9. Chapter 9

Haku hadn't expected much of anything after being sealed away, and it was nearly all that she'd expected. There was black... black... and for a little splash of difference, black. But there was no pain, no hunger, no pleasure, in fact no movement at all. She was bound against any action she could take, in an almost smothering syrupy blackness.

She couldn't feel them, but she could hear and smell the binds. The sounds of the creaking leather, squeaking vinyl, clinking chains, and the whisper quiet squeaks of latex all told her that she was bound in layers upon layers gear, and a spider web of chains suspending her. She could even smell the treated leather, the teasing scent of vinyl, and the cool metallic scent of the chains and clamps.

If she had to pick something that annoyed her the most, it was the removal of her sense of touch. She knew what she should be feeling, could almost feel the echoes of the sensory input she should be feeling. But it was denied to her.

That self-same lack of feelings made her wonder what had happened. Waiting in that web of leather, chains, and various other materials, she felt no changes, no sensation of moving scrolls, no sudden increase in feelings... Nothing... just... nothing...

She'd been in here for several days, hadn't she? That was more than long enough for the Judgenatrix to arrive and take her in for the charges levied against her. So why hadn't she moved scrolls yet?

Instead of focusing on the lack of feelings and the worrisome lack of transfer, she focused on the last time she failed. It had been one week before she was supposed to have graduated with honors from the Justicar program back home. She had fought free of the initial sweeps of the enforcers to the Grand Master's new law banning Mistresses. Her self-appointed mission was to find the resistance and turn her services over to them.

She'd even escaped two attempts to ensnare her by false representatives, but the third one had been the charm it seemed. The Master had been a skilled actor, even had slaves acting as mistresses over other slaves, both male and female to ensure her capture.

One minute she was going to meet up with the Head of the Mistress's resistance, the next she was on her stomach with Master Curry smirking right into her face. "Foolish girl, did you really think anyone would want someone as weak and gullible as you?"

The next couple days were a blend of shame and horror as she was stripped, whipped, beaten, physically degraded and violated in every way save the one that would lower her selling price in front of eager crowds, that just cheered on her captors. By the end of the few days she was held, she doubted anyone would ever see anything of worth in her. And that's when she had first met the man that found something redeeming in her. He talked to her as an equal, restored her since of worth to her, and gave her hope. One day, he came, killed the guards and many of the clients, and unchained her and the rest of the slaves, even providing them access to the room that housed simple clothing.

On that day she had been dressed up as a Pony girl, feeling painfully full as with the tail plug in her ass, being bid upon by three cruel masters in particular. One had already collected five others similarly dressed slaves, looking to finish up a carriage team. The rumors about him were bad, and the crying slaves behind him showed Haku that she wasn't the only one that knew it.

Another one had been a horse rancher, and was looking for a girl to aide in the collection of viable seminal fluids for him to sell. She knew that if she'd gone to him, she would have been broken in under a week, and still used until she died. She might last a month with him...

But that was still better than the third and final man, he was a vile pig of a man, that had been sanctioned against by the guild for many years for his use of girls as... meat. The two plumper girls behind him, she knew would end up in ovens by the end of the day, but he proclaimed he still needed a girl for the spit.

It was during the bidding on her that Master Zabuza showed up, decapitating the three men that had been holding a bidding war over her. And then the bloodbath started. Not even five minutes after it started, it was over, and all the slave girls were freed. He turned on the fire sprinklers to hose them off, and slashed open the door barring them access to clothes. Everyone but Haku surged in to grab anything they could, before disappearing towards the Hi no Kuni borders.

Haku hadn't been forced to go with the others as Master Zabuza provided her with an outfit chosen specifically for her. The instant she saw the latex and leather belts, she knew what it was. He was giving her a chance at being a Justicar, and she more than gladly took up her mask in his service.

But she'd failed again, and here she was... floating in an endless sea of blackness, unable to move, unable to feel... only able to think.

Naruto woke about as suddenly as he'd fallen asleep, still laid out in the middle of the clearing where he'd won his first Master's Duel. A look at the sun alerted to the fact that he'd passed out for about two hours, and the flipping of a page told him EXACTLY what Kakashi'd been doing. "Maa... sleep well?"

"Yeah... wonderful... had a dream about a Judgenatrix saying she was impressed by my fight with a real Justicar that slipped in while I was training..." Naruto stated calmly while debating force feeding Kakashi that book up his backside. "But other than that, it was good... and how's your novel?"

"A bit dry, but it's getting to a good part..." Kakashi stated while marking his place in the book. "I believe that a debriefing is in order... Especially about the unexpected real duel..."

Naruto sighed heavily as he realized just how completely nuts this was going to sound. Swallowing the pride he had in the public opinion of his sanity, Naruto began to give as complete of a tale of his actions as he could. Throughout it all, Kakashi only watched him with a bored look. At the end, Kakashi sighed heavily as the blond finished and held up the scroll holding his capture. "Well that... is pretty much insane... but I believe you."

"Really? Cause I fought it, and I'm kinda doubting my sanity on it..." Naruto answered while trying to figure out everything that happened in the fight. He was pretty sure that some supernatural force had to be playing with luck to keep it in his favor, or something.

"Let's just go back to the house, you talk to Haku, and get my summoned Justicar back..." Kakashi stated while dusting himself off. As Naruto joined him in walking back to the house, he chuckled and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Remind me to tell you sometime about a few of my duels, yours is actually fairly mild. I must commend you on your use of the whip... so I think you should keep it for now..."

"For now? But it's a Justicar's whip..." Naruto asked while looking at the red leather whip in his hands.

"From what you've told me... you'll have the rare honor of presenting it to a Justicar herself soon enough..." Kakashi replied with a soft chuckle to his voice. "But for now, just keep it in good condition, and if the situation comes for you to use it, go for it. Remember, a Master's tools are what he can use. These are more than a fight for your freedom, and now that of your little slave, Zabuza doesn't duel to capture his opponent."

"Yeah... just so long as that Judgenatrix doesn't take it out on me for using it..." Naruto grumbled hotly while looking around nervously. "Seriously though... what's with a Judgenatrix getting here that fast? It took us two days to get to those Masters in the forest... and another two or three to get here..."

"They have special routes to use in case of emergency, I've only seen them once... and they make The Stone Monolith look like a child's tea house. If you ever see the inside of there, I will pray for your soul..." Kakashi stated calmly while they walked, and Naruto had to wonder just how scary the insides of the Judgenatrix's domain could be... and what Kakashi had done to wind up inside there.

"I... I see... so... I get your training Justicar back, she goes to that training school... does she need her mask back?" Naruto asked, changing the subject quickly, not wanting to see where his mind might lead to if given enough free reign.

"Well... yeah, I think that'd be the right thing to do... If she doesn't have her mask on, don't look at her face, okay? There's some law that says that if anyone sees their face, there's grave penalties or something... I'd have to look it up..." Kakashi stated after they arrived at the backdoor to the house. "Zabuza will likely be down for a bit longer without his companion to aide his healing, but I think I want you to focus on your chains a bit more... try out some new things. I'll keep tabs on you, but I think you will learn best if I give you free reign..."

"Yes sir," Naruto answered, holding the door for the higher ranked Master. Once inside he went up to the bedroom they'd been given and locked the door and windows, leaving one unlocked on an idea he had. Clearing a small spot in the middle of the room, he unfurled the scroll, and let Haku tumble out. "Welcome back to the waking world, did you enjoy your stay at casa de la scroll?"

Haku glared at the man that had trapped her. She'd just lost everything she'd ever prided herself on, and here he was making jokes! But she was weaponless, and most likely would be defeated by him if she fought him while enraged. Sighing, she decided to counter his humor with her own. "Yes I did thank you... though you must get a new pool boy..."

To her surprise he just chuckled and shook his head. "You're different than I was expecting... A fake justicar, due to one man's illegal ruling, forced to live on the run with a man that couldn't truly appreciate your beauty, skills, and grace. I dare say when I get back to Konoha, I'll have to beat the Justicar corps off with a stick to keep you as my slave..."

Haku had a steady blush burning on her cheeks, up until he mentioned that last word. "S...Slave? I... I'm a... a..."

"A slave... that's right. You challenged me in an officially sanctioned Master's Duel, and since no wager was placed... the Judgenatrix decided to let me keep you, as your case is under review," Naruto stated calmly while he knelt next to the shell-shocked brunette. "Look, I know you don't want to betray Zabuza, but he and Gato are both going to have to pay... If... if you stay with me I can protect you as best I can..."

"W...why would you do that for me?"

"I read your file... it wasn't right what happened, and I think you got a raw deal there... but I'll leave the choice to you..." Naruto answered while setting a collar at her knees, turning so his emblem is pointed towards her. "I have to take Kakashi back his Justicar, if you'd give her back... and her mask..."

Haku produced the two things, holding them out on the flats of her palms, hiding the fact that she was looking down at the collar with wide, terrified eyes. Scooping them up, Naruto turned to leave. At the door, he turned his head back slightly to talk to Haku. "If it gets too stuffy in here, go ahead and open that window over there. The tree blocks most of the sun, but there should be a nice breeze... they should trim back the branches though, they almost touch the window..."

And with that, he was out of the room, leaving Haku with two clear, if unspoken choices. Become Naruto's slave, and be protected... maybe even become a full fledged Justicar herself. Or... or go back to Zabuza and keep playing pretend?

But Zabuza loved her, had saved her from the slave lines, and couldn't just abandon him like that. Could she? Was Naruto just lying to get her to leave him, and would then leave her trapped in a scroll for the rest of her life?


	10. Chapter 10

Zabuza smirked as he looked at the foolish Kakashi and his junior partner standing on the bridge waiting for him. They thought that they had been victorious, but his Justicar and adopted daughter Haku had returned to him, and had helped him recover faster than they would have thought. And now they were ripe for the plucking, especially since the blonde thought he held Haku in a scroll, but she had managed to get free at the last minute.

The fight that had led to the deception and subsequent night away from Zabuza had resulted in the girl getting ten strokes with the back of her hairbrush, a quarter of the normal punishment, since it actually served to further their goals, and in fact ensured that the Judgenatrix thought that Haku had been captured and turned over to them. He could be merciful when it mattered, but still the punishment had to happen in order for Haku to learn her lesson about timing, and obeying him.

It was time to make them pay for making him worry, and for even thinking of trying to capture his Haku. So he wouldn't kill them today, oh no, he'd given Haku two scrolls especially for them. He would take Kakashi and torment him for months before finally granting him the sweet release of death. The blond would become the personal plaything of Haku, as he'd promised when she rejoined him. She had been passionate about that point, and provided that he would be an excellent partner to keep her skills honed against, and he couldn't just ignore that fact. So he had ceded the point, and loved every moment of the shining joy in her eyes.

Maybe it would assuage a little of the guilt he felt over missing her birthday the year before. They had been caught in the middle of an operation to capture them, but even still he usually got her something to celebrate the day with, it had just slipped his mind, and he hated himself for it.

Freeing his blade from its holster, he chuckled grimly as he knew the fight would be over in under fifteen minutes, after that Gato would be here to pay him. After that he could retire for a while to deal with Kakashi and let Haku have her fun with the brat.

Naruto sighed as he waited anxiously for something... ANYTHING to happen. They'd been reporting to the bridge every morning for the past week and a half, knowing that Haku would have Zabuza healed and fighting soon enough. But today was different, today he could sense the presence of a he'd felt before, and one that drew a smile he'd only worn before when playing with his eggs.

Turning around he was about to complain to Kakashi when a whistling noise filled the air, at the last second he managed to set up an array of chains that snatched the thrown blade aimed straight at his back. They redirected it's flight to leave it embedded into the ground. "Well that's not very nice... couldn't we at least once face these two with a properly declared challenge?"

"Maa Naruto... don't you know that such people seldom actually declare their challenges..." Kakashi commented while putting away his book. "And it was getting to such a wonderful part of the story..."

The appearance of Zabuza and Haku seemed like a minor note when compared to the one that had appeared immediately after them, standing on the very tip of the hilt as though she'd been there all along. The Judgenatrix looked between the groups and nodded solemnly. "This officially sanctioned match seems to have all the players at the ready... The wager is as follows: Lord Master Hatake, Kakashi, and Master Uzumaki, Naruto and all their properties, and the family and properties of Trader Tanzo, against the representative of the illegal Grand Master Gato; the Lord Master Momichi, Zabuza, the entirety of the Wave slave market, and all properties controlled by them. Commence the battle."

And with that she was gone from the field, but everyone knew that she was still watching. Zabuza smirked behind his latex bandages covering his mouth as he retrieved his blade. If a Judgenatrix was present, it just meant that when he won, he would have another week before they tried to track him again.

Focusing on the Lord Master, his smirk grew into a full grin as he thought of what he was going to do to that arrogant jerk, facing him and his personal Justicar with only that wet-behind-the-ear Master as back-up. They would pay for this foolishness. Charging forward he slashed at Kakashi, only to find his blade turned at the last second by a length of barbed chain from the blond. Those chains were becoming a major annoyance, but simply summoning chains from some scroll wasn't going to win this battle, after all, the brat would run out, and then there would be nothing more to him.

But where was Haku? She should have been keeping that brat busy while he dealt with the silver-haired trouser stain. Ah, there she was, her ice blasts were slowing down those chains, so now he could focus on the idiot Kakashi.

Slashing at the idiot again, he snarled in frustration as he missed by barely inches, while the idiot just kept talking about weird things. "So is that sword really compensating for something? Just look how big it is, you have to wonder..."

Oh that's it, he was going to suffer double for those little remarks. Soon, very soon he would be sealed up into a scroll and would be completely and utterly at Zabuza's lacking mercy. Winding back to slash at Kakashi, he flipped the blade so the blunt side would hit him, and found out two things at that moment. One was that his back foot was frozen to the ground, and two Haku was standing before him without her mask, tears in her eyes, and wearing a strange collar about her neck. "I'm sorry Master Zabuza..."

That's when he noticed the scroll unrolling at his foot, and he knew it wasn't one of the fakes he'd given Haku. Bowing his head, he let out a dry chuckle. "That's how it goes... good job Ha..."

"...ku." the oiled man finished, as he heard the creaking of leather, and felt the binds pulling him into a spread eagle position. "They claimed her... they really... actually claimed her..."

And with that, the first tear he'd shed in years rolled down his cheeks. Not for himself, but for the little girl that he'd saved those years ago. She had too much talent to be broken like that.

That's when the first jolt of pain struck, the physical pain that he could fight against. That told him he was alive... not the emotional pain that left him dead inside.

The fight had been fast and furious, with a lot of flash and noise, it had even lasted a full five minutes. But then there was nothing save a scroll on the ground, Haku bent over it crying, Naruto trying to console her, and Kakashi watching on silently. A minute into Haku's mourning, the Judgenatrix returned to collect the scroll. "I am sorry you had to do that Ju... Slave Haku... but the fight is not yet ended... round two has arrived."

As the fog lifted itself away, to reveal the mass of masters surrounding Gato, the effects it had on the combatants was nearly instantaneous. Haku stood up, slipping her mask into place over her face, all hesitation removed from her body. Kakashi eyed up the competition with a little trepidation, as he knew that against that many, all three of their techniques would do little. Naruto... Naruto started chuckling as though he'd lost his mind, before turning to face Kakashi. "Hey, do you have something to launch things with?"

Kakashi blinked at the odd request, before pulling out a storage scroll and removing a simple leather sling from it, holding it up lamely with a shrug. Naruto's grin only widened upon seeing it, and snatched up the leather strap with a laugh of mirth. "PERFECT!"

What happened next shocked Kakashi, and he was pretty sure the two people wearing full masks were similarly shocked, as Naruto pulled out balls from one of the storage scrolls he'd packed. The balls would enter the sling and be flung out as fast as he could get them up to speed. In the middle of the air, the balls would open up and a mesh of chains would be revealed with weights on the edges forming up the bulk of the ball. Kakashi suspected that the chains were too fine to do much, but they seemed to hold down several men in a single net, opening up channels of attack. Haku seemed to take advantage of the distraction that Naruto was forming to literally freeze men into place on the bridge. "Oh..."

Kakashi smirked as he realized what the youngsters were doing, and pulled out a scroll of his own. "Didn't think I would use these guys..." Unfurling with a snap of his wrist, he unleashed the dozen dogs in his pack to help even the odds further. He waited a few minutes to see how the battle was fairing before pulling out a whip of his own and rushing into battle.

Gato... Gato was ready to piss his pants as he saw his massive group of masters and mercenaries get whittled down by those three without any mercy. Already more than a couple of them were peeling off and running away. He couldn't do that himself, as the rest of these men would turn on him in a heartbeat if they saw that. No he had to lead them through to victory, especially if they could capture that Judgenatrix. Having one of them under him would be a major coup against the guild...

That's about when the first lash of pain hit, or rather a weight from one of those damn nets struck him square on his nose, sending him staggering back with blood flowing out freely. He felt a strange numbness from one of his legs just before an icy chill alerted him to the fact he was ensnared in that bitch's ice trap. Looking around, he realized just how grossly he'd misjudged the situation. Of all hundred men he'd brought along, there was one standing under his own power. And he was that one.

The trio that had brought down his fabulous, magnificent slave ring were walking over, the traitorous slut pulling out one of those damned black scrolls. This one he could see had the seals for Konoha covering it. The shorter blond one was glaring daggers, twirling a hook covered weighted chain around at his side slowly. The Lord Master he knew as Kakashi was petting those demons he called dogs with a strange smile that had his visible eye curving upwards. "Come to gloat have you? Or to finish me off?"

"No, to say goodbye," was all the ice princess stated before snapping out the scroll and sealing away the head of the group.

Looking around, they saw the defeated and demoralized look in the eyes of the remaining masters, and one question rang through their minds, even as Naruto asked it. "What the hell do we do with all of them?"

"I believe that I have a remedy for that Master Uzumaki..." the Judgenatrix stated while collecting the scroll containing Gato. With a slight flourish she indicated the far end of the bridge, where from the woods found there emerged a half dozen Justicars pulling a cart loaded with black, seal covered scrolls. "Will this suffice?"

The three that fought the battle all looked over at the arrival of the Justicars, and thankfully none of them said anything, but apparently while Kakashi was thinking '_What? We had backup and she didn't say jack shit?_' his face had given away his thoughts. For the Judgenatrix leaned against his shoulder and whispered in his ear softly.

"Would you question a Judgenatrix... again Lord Master Hatake?" the woman asked, sending shivers along Kakashi's spine as flashbacks to the last time ran through his mind. A frantic shake of his head was enough to get the other two moving to go collect scrolls and help clean up.

When he heard, "I thought this mission was strictly for Kakashi and Naruto ALONE... Who went ahead? They're gonna be in trouble..." from one of the Justicars, he knew something was up, and suspected that it was coming from the Supreme Master himself this time.

The clean-up took less than an hour, and even then they had a few that were knocked out and tied to the cart. Apparently there were more detainees than there were scrolls to carry them back, for some reason Kakashi walked up to each and assured they'd be knocked out for the entire duration of the trip. The trio had been pulled aside when the other Justicars departed with a few waves and offers to join them at a bar for drinks after debriefing.

Once they were alone again, the Judgenatrix sighed heavily as she leaned against the bridge's support struts. "I believe that there is an explanation to you Masters... and... Slave Haku should be welcomed to hear it as well. As you know, the guild is active in most nations, save ones like Kiri no Kuni... where the leadership has rejected our ruler-ship for individual reasons... The reason I did not bring out the other Justicars until I did, was until that time they had no jurisdiction, and I merely had it over the two of you..."

"When we took over control of Wave, it became Konoha sovereign territories..." Kakashi suggested with a curious tone to his voice. "I see..."

"What are we going to do with all the slaves and things we just picked up?" Naruto asked curiously as he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, I'm just a level two master... I can't deal with that many... and how many of them are not even willing to be a part of the society? I wouldn't feel right forcing someone into slavery like that..."

The stiffening of Haku's shoulders, was barely noticed by the Judgenatrix, but she decided to instead answer his question. "We shall be reviewing their status, and if they wish to leave, there shall be rehabilitation time... if the two of the masters approve... the guild would like to set up a center here to facilitate the absorption of the land into our jurisdiction... until then I'm afraid you will be granted no additional slaves until such time as we can assess the status of the others..."

"Uh... yeah I guess that makes sense..." Naruto offered while scratching the back of his head, pointing towards Wave. "So... you guys are making a place there, and while we technically own this place... you're in charge?"

"That is correct Master Uzumaki..." the Judgenatrix answered with a slight nod of her masked face. "If you and Lord Master Kakashi wish... you could give over Wave to our ownership..."

"We will consider it ma'am..." Kakashi stated calmly after the group grew silent. "Is there anything further you need us for before we make our way towards Konoha?"

"I would ask that you remain here until the guild can set up the base of operations, I must go back to the Judgenatrix headquarters and begin processing Zabuza, Gato, and the others..."

"M...Ma'am... could... could you look into Zabuza's reasons for his actions and take them into account before passing judgement?" Naruto asked, hearing the sharp draw of breath from Haku, and knowing that she still loved him, despite everything he'd done. He was risking a lot by asking this, and it seemed that he was more than willing to risk that for people.

"I... shall see what I can do Master Uzumaki..." the masked woman stated with a tone that suggested pride in her voice. "Before I go... I have some matters to address with this group. Slave Haku, for now, your charges have been withdrawn. Also, I will look into the matters regarding your... prior training... You shall be hearing from us again."

Naruto patted Haku on the shoulder lightly, giving her a warm smile as she turned to look back at him. "However, I'm afraid we're going to have to take your mask and outfit..."

"Understood Judgenatrix..." Haku stated quietly, with her head lowered, her voice oddly small.

"Can that wait until I can get her something Ma'am? I don't think having her go around naked would be a good idea..." Naruto offered worriedly while rubbing the girl's shoulders gently.

"You ask much Master Uzumaki, but it is agreeable..." the woman answered calmly with a slight nod of her head. "As for you Master Uzumaki, I feel that your Level 2 Master rank might be subject to change... I will personally recommend you for advancement to Level 1 Master. And I believe Supreme Master Sarutobi shall be most pleased to hear of your progress."

Naruto's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull as he realized that in one mission he has gone from unranked, to just under gaining his Lord Master status. For the first time in nearly anyone present's memory, Naruto was speechless. Little did they realize just how rare this event would be, so they should have enjoyed it a LOT more.

"And finally... Teacher Umino sends his regards to you Master Uzumaki... and to Lord Master Hatake he suggests that not a single hair be harmed on the young Master's head..." the Judgenatrix finished with a strangely baffled tone. "I trust you understand what he meant..."

As Kakashi nodded, the others all noted that every inch of his exposed skin was pale white, and a cold sweat had broken out upon his brow.


	11. Chapter 11

Naruto sighed as he leaned back against the bridge's support column, it had been three weeks since the fight with Zabuza, and the only thing that had happened was him and Kakashi sitting on the bridge, while Haku helped keep their host's home clean and tidy. She'd seemed to have accepted being his slave easily, leaping to any task he asked eagerly. So during the day, Naruto helped guard the bridge, while at night he was free to do any training he wanted to.

One thing he had studied was the slave's scrolls, in particular he studied how to make and improve on them. Hey, with almost no money usually, the amount he saved by making the scrolls instead of buying pre-made ones was an amazingly substantial amount. Any other training he did usually had Haku in the vicinity, as a training tool, an adviser, or both. She was especially useful in helping him study up for Master's duels, giving personal experiences to the various tools and tactics one might encounter. In their practice spars, she constantly had him on the ropes, but out of the twenty duels, only ten of them had been close to getting him captured, and not a single one had ended with her holding the scroll in the end.

His techniques had been honed to a razor sharpness, right along with Haku's. In many more ways than one... The spiked tipped chain that Haku had suggested for him to train with had ended up imbedded deeply through the training dummy, having thankfully missed Haku herself. He really needed to work on his aim, since hitting a person with that would likely have crippled or killed them in a single hit. Especially if it was coupled with the new ice attack Haku had created, in which she shot out a wave of ice; that froze anything, and anyone, that it came into contact with. They agreed that it was not a technique to use outside of last resorts.

But back in the here and now, it seemed that the bridge builder was coming over to talk with him again, the brother of the trader that had paid for their mission was almost as annoying as Tanzo himself. "What now Tazuna? I haven't heard anything about Tsunami's rehabilitation yet..."

"That's super fine, I just wanted to let you and Lord Master Kakashi know that you have a few invitations to join people for lunch today..." Tazuna stated calmly while scratching his chin and nodding to the line-up of fans watching Naruto and Kakashi from the shoreline. "I told them I would let you two know, and so I have..."

"Thank you Tazuna..." Naruto answered, while looking at the flock of people waving to him and cheering him on. Giving them a small wave, he smiled warmly as they let out a cheer. Sure they were annoying after the first week, but it was still kinda nice to be noticed and appreciated, instead of ignored and hated.

"Oh, and it looks like we'll be able to finish up tomorrow..." the bridge builder stated with a huge grin on his face. What that meant was that Naruto and Kakashi could leave in two days, and he wouldn't have to seal the doors and windows every night to prevent the strange women trying to break into his room while he slept.

"Be sure to tell Kakashi that," Naruto answered after turning back to face the bridge itself. It wouldn't have been the first time that Tazuna 'forgot' to tell Kakashi something. The bridge builder waved before heading off towards where Kakashi was reading his novel again. Leaning back against the support, he sighed heavily, and kept an eye out for any more trouble. After Gato's capture there hadn't been a single attack on the bridge, and his life had been mostly boring. Well save for the crazy women acting like all those submissive girls around Sasuke, they were just weird...

Looking towards the mainland side of the bridge, he wondered briefly when the new representatives of the guild would be showing up to take over the hall that had been set up. So far only a few psychologists, and office personnel had shown up, but there was no Judgenatrix to run the show. The day to day management of the guild-house was left to the staff, but there were several decisions that required either Kakashi or Naruto to stop in and determine the path for them to take.

Last night, Naruto had jokingly suggested to Haku that the guild were testing him and Kakashi for some reason he couldn't fathom at the moment. Haku simply smiled and patted him on the head, before suggesting they spar again. Why did he think she was covering something up?

Moving on, his attention was returned to the present when he found himself watching as a Judgenatrix walked out of the trees themselves at the far end of the bridge. Instead of the red eye with a white backing of the one he'd known, this one had a green eye with a bluish hue to the main mask. From what he could see, her hair was pulled up into a high top-knot ponytail that swirled behind her like a ribbon of black. As she approached, he could feel his knees begin to turn to jelly, especially when her eye locked with his. After what felt like an eternity, she arrived and stood before him, tilting her head down slightly to observe the young blond. "Are you Master Uzumaki?"

"Y...yes ma'am..." Naruto squeaked out, feeling his entire future would be judged in every word he spoke. He'd never felt such a dominating presence before, and he prayed deep in his heart of hearts that it wasn't going to be a reoccurring phenomenon.

"Mm... I am a High Judgenatrix of Konoha, I am here to relieve you and Lord Master Hatake. That is all you need to know," she explained, showing him her black scroll containing her orders to take over the guild-house that had been built. "The Judgenatrix you met previously sends her regards, and asks whether she may visit you at your dungeons sometime to help train a slave that has... been brought to our attentions. Now, where is Lord Master Hatake?"

Naruto swallowed nervously as he pointed over to where Kakashi seemed to be trying to hide behind his book. "T...there ma'am..."

Oh this was wonderful, not only did he have a Judgenatrix taking a personal interest in him, but here he was meeting with one of the ten High Judgenatrix of Konoha. Add to that, there was the small fact that his slave was under their eyes as well. Oh, he was sure this couldn't possibly be a bad thing...

Watching Kakashi squirm under the High Judgenatrix's presence made him feel a bit better about being intimidated by her. After all, if the great, powerful, and awe-inspiring Kakashi Hatake: Lord Master of over a thousand techniques, could be cowed by her, having to nearly change your pants couldn't be a bad thing for a new Master like Naruto, right?

Judging by how she stroked his chin, and the tense, almost terrified expression on Kakashi's face, Naruto knew that there was a bit more than what he knew going on here, but for the life of him he couldn't place it. So like he'd done for most of his life, he put it out of his mind, and instead focused on trying to figure out what dungeon the other Judgenatrix was talking about. All he had was a small, measly apartment that was more often than not on the verge of being destroyed, if not falling apart of its own violation.

Thinking about it, the last time he priced out dungeons, he'd nearly choked at how much they were asking for a simple ten-by-ten cell. No wonder most of his class were the richer clans of Konoha, only they could afford the cells and equipment costs.

His musings were cut off again by Kakashi's arrival, turning to look at the higher ranking master, he found a curious ashen hue to the man's exposed face. "I take it you know her too..." Naruto quipped dryly before pulling out their lunches from the scroll he'd stored them into before they left. It wasn't ramen, but the food that Haku and Tanzo's wife prepared was excellent.

Someday he'd have to teach Haku the glories of ramen, and get her to learn the humble practice of crafting such divine ambrosia.

Apparently Kakashi decided to ignore his inquiry, as he settled in to sit on the bridge and eat his lunch. Naruto copied him silently, eating the packed meal instead of pressing matters with Kakashi. After a few the Lord Master spoke up. "We can leave tomorrow, or the day after..."

"Which would you prefer?" Naruto asked before eating a piece of meat. One of the benefits of having Haku cooking for him meant that his food actually tasted like real food, instead of charcoal. There was a big difference as he was learning. Ramen would still wear the crown of all holiness as the perfect food blessed by kisses of angels... but real food wasn't too bad either.

"Tomorrow morning, I'd rather not give your fangirls too many openings..." Kakashi mused quietly as he indicated the screaming mob on the shoreline. "Oh, I've been informed that our mission has been officially upgraded, and our pay will reflect that once we get back home."

Naruto finished the mouthful of rice and vegetables before answering, giving his brain a chance to catch up before his mouth took off again. "That's good, I could use the bonus of a two crop if I'm buying a dungeon I guess... Need to also build up my tools I guess..."

He could almost hear the smirk on Kakashi's lips as he bit into another helping of rice and vegetables, which he actually managed to swallow before Kakashi spoke up again. "Actually it's been listed as a whip mission, and we'll be getting another three crop's pay for our work at the guild-house... so..."

Naruto's jaw hung open as he realized just the sheer amount of money being talked about. A one whip mission was equal to five one crop missions, and then another three crop on top of that meant he was getting roughly eight crops worth of pay for a single mission. His FIRST mission, some part deep in his mind reminded him. That's right, it was his first mission, and he'd started it off as the lowest of the low, without even a slave to his name. Now he had a slave that had the Judgenatrix core's attention, he was being watched himself, and he had a healthy start on his financial base once he got home. It was about here that a flaw sprung up in his mind. "Can they afford that?" he asked, indicating the village.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders with a tired expression. "Most likely they'll work out a payment plan, but some of those that are going into the guild do not have a family to pay their slave tithing to... it's a token gesture true, but they can use it to defer some of the cost. We're not out to make them go broke after all."

"Makes sense..." Naruto answered while sipping a cup of tea. "Think we'll be able to slip out without a lot of fanfare?"

"Not likely..." Kakashi answered while sipping his own cup of tea.

Tomorrow, instead of making out like thieves in the night, Kakashi and Naruto were forced to stand in the front of an entire throng of cheering people while the High Judgenatrix gave a speech. It wasn't that they were forced to stand up there, like huge targets, but the alternative was that she give all the fangirls in the village Naruto's home address.

"And it is with a warm heart and open arms that was accept the Land of Waves into the guild-league of nations. Our thanks go out to Lord Master Hatake," here the High Judgenatrix paused as cheers washed over the stage in a staggering wave. Once they died down, she continued. "And Master Uzumaki."

Again the crowd began to cheer, only to cut off as a confused murmur rippled through the mass of people. Some fainted, others dropped to their knees in supplication, and still others seemed ready to run if Naruto so much as sneezed in their direction. Naruto turned to look at Kakashi and the High Judgenatrix, both of whom gave him indications that they had no idea what was going on.

Slowly, one by one the populace of Wave returned to some semblance of normalcy, though there was still much that was being whispered, pointed, and physically indicated that none of the three outsiders understood. There wasn't anything malevolent about it, just... accepting, submitting, and loving. Those that were afraid however seemed to congregate towards the back, as though terrified of Naruto. Finally the High Judgenatrix sidestepped over next to the man in question and whispered as an aside, "I will personally look into this matter, and submit a report of my findings... this is odd..."

Naruto nodded mutely before she took a step back up to the podium, the assembled crowd paying even more rapt attention than before. Naruto for his part couldn't help but wonder about what had just happened. It was a daunting feeling to say the least. Naruto had never felt like this before, and for some reason, he didn't feel like he had really deserved it. Most of what he'd done was pure luck.

"Further, it is a pleasing honor to know that Master Uzumaki has impressed the citizenry of wave enough to have the bridge named after him. The Great Naruto bridge has such a delightful ring to it in my opinion, again thank you," the High Judgenatrix continued charmingly as the crowd died out, with no outright objections from the audience Naruto blushed heavily as he realized that it had actually been named after him. "Also, it saddens me to say that they are going to be returning to Konoha, however they will always carry a piece of Wave in their hearts."

"Let us all say farewell to the owners of Wave... Lord Master Hatake, and Master Uzumaki."

The Naruto's shout of '_**WHAT?**_' was drowned out by the echoing cheers of the assembled citizenry of Wave. Kakashi decided to take this moment to guide Naruto away from the stand with polite waves.

It was about ten miles down the road that Naruto's shock wore off enough for him to form a coherent sentence again. And as such he had one single target to ask his questions to. "What did she mean I owned Wave? I... I... but..."

"Technically Gato legally owned Wave, and that means when we beat him, we gained all of his properties. The Guild will verify that his slaves were legal, and mentally able to continue their service before we find out about them, but I doubt any are going to pass either of those qualifiers..." Kakashi explained solemnly while his eye lowered darkly. "I won't lie to you, but many of the illegal slaves will likely be so broken they cannot even function without a lot of retraining."

"But... shouldn't that be you that got sole ownership? I mean you are the Lord Master," Naruto asked curiously as his mind continued to catch up with the world around him. "I'm just a Master with an unusually fast promotion rate..."

"By the laws themselves, you should really be the sole owner, since it was your slave who captured both Zabuza and Gato, but as a Master, and as new as you are... I was asked to take some of the land... but you are the de-facto landlord of most of the residential and half the business properties," Kakashi explained calmly while they continued walking. Reaching over he patted the blonde on the shoulder lightly with an eye smile. "Since you are from Konoha, the Guild will send you recommendations for people to work the land in your name, within a day of you returning home."

"I can't believe this! I just freed the place so I can own it? That makes absolutely no sense!" Naruto protested loudly, his body reflected the unease he felt about the matter. He stormed silently down the path, kicking a few of the stones out of his way.

"It's the rules kid... if we make an area into Guild-friendly area, by beating an illegal, we gain their properties, and any legal slaves they might have," Kakashi explained after a few minutes to let Naruto calm down a little bit. "For the most part you're a figurehead, and get a stipend monthly."

"Do I have to fill out any paperwork?" the pouting blonde asked while dragging his feet.

"Only every fiscal quarter, and don't worry about it, most times you can delegate it to a slave after getting them through the Guild-sponsored training program," Kakashi answered before letting out a heavy sigh, and shaking his head. "We'll see how it develops for you."

"And finally... what the hell was that?" Naruto asked, pointing back to Wave with an exaggerated gesture.

Kakashi barely reacted, looking back thoughtfully before shaking his head and turning away from the land that had all but worshiped Naruto after his surname was given. "I... have my suspicions... but I believe the Judgenatrix branch will find out more than either of us could..."


	12. Chapter 12

Heya folks, just a shameless plug of self-promotion to my forums, where you can find out more about the story, and the insanity that is behind it. Most likely samples and spoilers will be shown there as time goes on, so feel free to come and enjoy yourself. I would love to hear from you guys, so feel free to visit the multiple topics of interest there.  


* * *

Hinata sighed as she knelt next to her two slaves smiling at them warmly. Hanabi had been her first, but only because she didn't want to be a mistress herself. The other, a bun-haired girl that she had rescued from the 'tender mercies' of her cousin Neji. She knew she wasn't the mistress that either of them deserved, but she found she couldn't release them either. If she did, they would most likely be captured by Neji who didn't believe in Slave Rights.

Countless were the fines that had been paid to the Guild due to dubious actions, but she knew their actions only too well. She'd heard the whispers in the halls during the darkest hours of the night, and had reported more than a few actions herself. If it wasn't for her and others of similar mind to herself, Konoha would sever itself from the Guild, and she could only dread what would happen if the rebels gained control.

She wasn't supposed to know about the secret faction of the rebels, but her surveillance activities uncovered much of what was being done to undermine the Guild's control. And what she'd learned had her tossing and turning late into the night, only to be quieted by Tenten's arms holding her, or Hanabi's quiet whimpers. She had to be strong, she had to carry the burden that the intelligence branch of the Guild had tasked her with.

But even still, the nightmare of what she uncovered terrified her to her core. Her own cousin was to collar her, so as to remove the Hyuuga's resistance to the rebels. Her father had long fought against the anti-Guild factions, and gained many enemies. But sadly the worst enemies were the ones in the Hyuuga's own clan. The branch family had many members that were members of the rebellion, and there was little any of the main family could do to counter that. Their chief member was none other her cousin, and the boy she had once called nii-san, Neji Hyuuga.

She could understand their reasons for joining, as the branch family had always been little more than slaves to the main family, but she was working hard with her father to change that. If only they could give her a little more time to convince the elders, then the rebellion wouldn't have taken such a firm hold on the branch family. But now that it was entrenched in their numbers, she didn't know what she could do. Each passing day seemed to draw her ever farther from her goal as being a working slave under the man she loved.

She knew that the clan members were not acting on their own, since she'd intercepted many messages and radio signals giving them orders. Somehow she felt that the main master behind the rebellion was the elder Danzo, but she lacked any proof to support her claims. That meant she couldn't go to her superiors, except to pass on intercepts as she gathered them. The Guild seemed particularly interested in ones regarding 'the Namikaze heir' and anything in regards to keeping him from being discovered.

Again she had her suspicions about who this heir might be, but she only mentioned them once to her Guild-intelligence controller, who suggested she not bring it up again. She knew that the last Namikaze was the previous Supreme Master of Konoha, but none of the history books mentioned anything of an heir. But from the photographic records she found, there was only one person she could imagine possibly being the heir. It was one and the same man that she loved, but she couldn't state that to anyone else, least of all the person himself.

"Mistress..." Tenten purred softly in her ear, gaining her attention to look back at the older brunette curiously. "It is time for your report to the Guild..."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Hinata pushed herself up and strode over to the video-transceiver that had been installed shortly after she was recruited by the Guild-intelligence branch. Even if this was her private dungeon, separated by nearly half the city from the compound, she still did a quick check of all her intrusion detection systems. Finding no causes for worry she punched in a code she'd long ago dedicated to heart. Five seconds later, she found herself looking at the familiar white mask with a single red eye staring back at her. "Hello Judgenatrix, this one is reporting as ordered..."

"Hinata, has there been any developments?" the woman asked calmly while the camera whirred quietly, scanning the room.

"N...no ma'am... I have not seen anything, and the only message intercepted has been forwarded to you already..." Hinata answered, lowering her eyes. "M...ma'am... h... has there been any news of him?"

"Hmm? Him who Hinata-chan?" the Judgenatrix asked, and Hinata knew full well that she knew, despite playing like she didn't. This was a game that she played with Hinata, trying to encourage her to be bolder.

"N...Naruto-kun..." Hinata squeaked out softly, while fidgeting with her fingers. "I... I worry about him ma'am..."

Strangely a feeling of understanding and warmth flowed from the digital representation of the Judgenatrix, and Hinata could almost swear she felt a hand patting her gently on the top of her head. "Lord Master Hatake, and Master Uzumaki are both on their way back to Konoha as we speak. As you know he is no longer under the free-hunt, having gotten his first collar. But I think he is finding out that being in the Guild is a lot more work than the teachers prepare their students for. It is true that his ascension is a rapid one, otherwise he would have more time to get used to the increases in work. But we are not pushing him for more than we feel he is ready for."

Hinata smiled warmly at that, until a beeping noise caught her attention. Turning slightly she saw an incoming radio transmission being transcribed before her eyes. As it progressed, her smile turned into a worried frown and her eyes began widening in surprise. "Ma'am... a... a new report is coming in... It is about the heir again... and the thirteenth clan..."

"Send it to me as soon as it is finished Hinata," the Judgenatrix ordered sternly, causing the shy mistress to jump slightly. Hinata nodded her agreement even as she read the message.

_Blind-one,_

_The Namikaze heir is returning home with a slave in tow, it is expected that he shall claim the thirteenth clan's chair. This is unfortunate to our cause, unless we can persuade him to our side. We are going to avoid contact until we find a way to persuade him._

_Please note that the fools of the Guild seem to believe we know nothing of their tricks. It seems that there is an intelligence operative acting out of the Hyuuga clan, we would like you to capture or eliminate the threat to our righteous reformation as soon as possible._

_We suspect it is Hinata Hyuuga of the main house. I want you to collar her immediately, and if we are right, we will control the Guild's activities where she is concerned._

_Do not fail us._

_All-seeing future._

Her face took on an ashen hue as she realized just what was happening. She'd been made, and with Naruto out of the village, she couldn't just beg for his collar as protection. Punching in the transmit coordinates, she sighed as she turned back to the Judgenatrix. "Ma'am... it... it seems that I have been compromised..."

The Judgenatrix nodded as she read over the captured transmission that had been sent to her. There was a strange pause as she looked aside to someone off-screen before nodding and turning back to Hinata. "Yes, it would seem so Hinata, go ahead and activate omega protocols. I want you to meet me on the top of the Stone Monolith with your slaves in their scrolls. The code phrase is 'I saw a rabbit in the park today...' and response will be 'There is a fox hunting rabbit tonight.' Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am..." Hinata answered with a bow to the Judgenatrix. "I will send the scrolls via the mail... If... If I'm captured, I refuse to have them be captured with me."

A nod from the Judgenatrix was Hinata's answer, before she was left staring at a blank screen again. Hinata pushed a final set of codes on the device, before walking away as the device exploded by itself. Getting to the private room, she found her two slaves holding their scrolls out for her in anticipation of their sealing. The rest of the dungeon had already been stripped and sealed away.

A couple days later, Naruto finally arrived back at the gates he and Kakashi exited out of only about a month ago. The debriefing was to be a simple matter since most of the reports had been filled out on the road when they camped for the night. So when they met up with Master Umino at the mission desk, it was a simple matter of getting them verified. Well almost...

"Congratulations Master Uzumaki," Master Umino stated with a pleased smile on his face as he hugged the younger boy. "I'm very proud of you, and have a feeling that I will be saying that a lot more in the future. Lord Master Hatake... do you need a reminder about the guild standards of neatness again?"

As Kakashi was chewed out, Naruto was handed an envelope and told to go to the elevator at the end of the hall, and meet up with the Supreme Master on floor thirteen. While he missed out on the most epic of beat-downs on a Lord Master ever recorded, he went to the elevator and caught a ride up to level thirteen. Thankfully this ride wasn't as long as the one he was used to.

Getting to the level, he followed the sound of a crackling fire towards the room he was meeting the Supreme Master in. What surprised him though was that the Hinata girl from his Dominance classes was there along with the Supreme Master, the latter sat in one of his seemingly favorite busty chairs.

"Ah, Master Uzumaki... glad you made it home safely, please sit down and join us... I was just about to inform Mistress Hyuuga about some details that she had been made aware of," Sarutobi explained calmly while waving towards a seat next to Hinata's, the poor girl herself was blushing deeply and studying the blond quietly.

"Before I continue, I wish to congratulate you on achieving Master status, and a level 1 master at that," Sarutobi continued with a pleased smile on his careworn face. Stroking his beard in thought, he chuckled softly. "Also, allow me to be the first to welcome you to your new dungeon Master Uzumaki."

The look of shock on the young pair's faces was almost the most entertaining sight that the old man had seen in several years of serving as the Supreme Master. There was just something about the bugging out of the eyes, and the loose hanging of their jaws that had him chuckling softly. "We have much to talk about Master Uzumaki... Mistress Hyuuga... Please choose somewhere to store your slaves nearby, and then we'll begin the discussion. There is some of it that they will need to hear as well."

Naruto and Hinata nodded before leaving the room, finding an empty cell which Naruto released Haku into. "Haku, I want you to stay here. Please take care of cleaning our new home..."

Hinata waited while Naruto gave the strange girl orders, feeling her heart crush as she bowed to him, knowing that she'd lost her chance to be his main slave. She found that the girl's outfit was a most curious short kimono, as opposed to the standard slave dress. That meant that the girl either came with clothing, or she was something special to Naruto. "I...if you don't mind Master Uzumaki... may I release my slaves as well? They can aid your slave... Haku was it?"

"Sure thing Hinata, I mean Mistress Hyuuga," Naruto answered with a wide, bright smile. "The more the merrier."

Hinata unfurled her two scrolls silently as a deep blush burned on her cheeks. As her sister and Tenten appeared before her, she smiled warmly and hugged them both. "Slaves, this is Master Uzumaki, and we will be staying as his guests in his dungeons, please follow the commands of Slave Haku in my stead."

Sarutobi watched as the two young dominants arrived back in the room that had been his unofficial office for the past few years. In all honesty though, Naruto had never seen the inside of the Supreme Master's office. That was down at level zero, just above the Judgenatrix corps' regional headquarters. In fact, the entire level they were on was actually Naruto's birthright once he became a Master.

Once the students had settled into their respective chairs, he sighed heavily and leaned back against the large, plush pillows on the chair that Kushina had created for her and her husband. "Now then... Master Uzumaki, as I told you, this level is now your dungeon, and all the gear is stored into scrolls in one of the rooms somewhere. These are part of your inheritance from your parents."

"Part? This is more than I ever thought I could possibly had, and you tell me there's more? Pardon me Supreme Master, but that's a little much, don't you think?" Naruto asked sharply while indicating the door back to the hallway behind them.

"Indeed... I am told this might interest you in particular Master Uzumaki..." Sarutobi answered with a quiet chuckle as he pulled out a couple scrolls from a storage 'pouch' that was placed right between the front legs of the chair, and handed them over casually. "I believe that these will aid you in the power that you have recently awakened..."

"Power? What power is that?" Hinata chimed in curiously, looking at the man that had captured her heart, even if he didn't know it yet. Her answer came when Naruto, without moving a muscle summoned forth a chain that appeared from his back and casually looped around the scrolls, pulling them back to the blonde with a simple clink of metal. "O...oh..."

Hinata couldn't help herself as her mind drifted away to how it would feel to have him bind her arms and legs into a spread open position, before leaning in and kissing her body tenderly, trailing up her stomach, over her chests, and finally capturing her lips in a tender, passionate embrace. Oh he would be so wonderful, binding her tight and controlling her every motion.

As the mistress of the trio delved into her imagination, Naruto and Sarutobi ignored her, instead focusing on other matters at hand. "Now, your paperwork will likely arrive here tomorrow morning, unless you have elsewhere you would like to place the office, Master Uzumaki, and I should inform you that one of the slaves gained from Wave has been approved of by the guild, and will be entering formal training... is there any particular field you wish her train in? Like office work, maid work, office work, cooking, office work, or even... office work?"

"Uh... I guess if she has a talent for it, maybe office work?" Naruto asked a little unsure at just what the Supreme Master was hinting at. "Don't they usually do a test or something to see what field they'd work out best in?"

"Normally they do, but she is a trained slave coming in from an illegal market, there are a host of skills she offers, but her best by far are her office management skills. She however isn't too confident in herself and asked that the master that she was going to decide her future," Sarutobi explained while pulling out another scroll from the 'pouch' of the chair. "This is her dossier, please read through it at your leisure."

Naruto paused a moment to look over the file that he'd been given curiously, pulling it open enough that he could read the name of the office slave he was going to get. "Yuki Nagato... she sounds like an interesting person..."

"According to her trainers, she is a brilliant and gifted woman, if a bit serious... she is also rather emotionally distant from her ordeal, but I believe she will serve you well," the wizened old man relayed with a warm smile as he stroked his beard again. "Now... I believe Mistress Hyuuga wishes to speak with you..."

"M...me? Y...yes Supreme Master..." Hinata stuttered softly as she lowered her gaze. "M...Master Uzumaki, fr...fr... since I... we... we graduated I... have been working with the intelligence branch of the guild..."

Naruto smiled brightly at Hinata with a hearty laugh to his voice. "Congratulations Hinata! They are really picky about who they... okay, what'd they say I did, and how much trouble am I in?"

At Hinata's confused look, Sarutobi decided to clarify a little bit with a slight chuckle to his voice. "Master Uzumaki has a history of people reporting him, falsely as well as truthfully to Guild-Intelligence... He's not used to the intelligence being on his side..."

"I say what now?" Naruto asked in actual surprise at the very mention of someone being on his side. It was well-known that he was a prankster, and had managed to escape some of the best hunters in the guild. But when he did get caught, he usually either fessed up right away and loudly, or he had verifiable proof of his whereabouts during the incident. Hey, he was a prankster, but at least he was honest. But never once had the intelligence branch of the guild offered him good news like this before. It was a big surprise to say the least.

"Y... you are not in trouble Master Uzumaki... r...rather..." Hinata continued before breaking off and poking her fingers together nervously. "That is... recently there has been a lot of talk about an heir to the Namikaze legacy c...coming into his own..."

"I don't see... what..." Naruto paused as he looked around the room silently. The pieces starting to fall into place. The previous holder of the thirteenth clan's seat had been the previous Supreme Master of Konoha, Minato Namikaze. Which meant that the person getting the thirteenth clan seat was the Namikaze heir, and each of the clan seats had a private dungeon in the Stone Monolith for their day-to-day use.

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized he could actually name the other twelve clan heads, and just where his dungeon was. Floor thirteen, the floor reserved for the Namikaze clan. The very same floor he'd just been given.

"Oh..."


	13. Chapter 13

Brief note from the author, be sure to swing by the forums on my profile. Enjoy  


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Haku might have only been a slave for a few weeks now, and most of that spent either sparring with her new master, or trapped in a scroll, but she'd been around people, and more importantly slaves to know how to read them. And the two that were working with her seemed to present an interesting possibility to her mind. It was little details that she caught onto most readily.

First they kept four cells open and clean instead of turning them into storage areas. This could have been simple foresight into her master's future captures and to save Haku the work of cleaning them out later. But she had overheard the one named Hanabi saying she hoped Naruto would let them decorate.

This could have been a simple matter of liking to keep the place looking more inviting, but it was impractical to have outsiders decorate for private cells like these. And thus a flag rose in her mind causing her to keep an eye on the pair.

The next thing she noticed was that they would slip up and call Naruto 'Master' instead of 'your master', or 'the master'. This could simply be put down as poor training, but for some reason she suspected it was more than that.

That was coupled with the interest they showed in her hand made collar from her Master. Since he hadn't registered his seal yet, he'd gotten permission from Kakashi to engrave it onto one of the blank training collars that the Lord Master had in one of his scrolls. Normally she'd expect some jealousy over having a custom made collar, unlike most masters that would just have a press stamp them out for them. But instead they seemed to be intrigued about the Master's mark, and she'd caught Tenten rubbing where it would rest on her own collar, right over Hinata's simple bunny-eared flame. From what Lord Master Kakashi had explained to her, the flame was part of all Hyuuga crests, and was thus named after them.

Her mind continued to process these clues quietly in the background, while she and the others tidied up the dungeons. It was about the time that she began sorting labeled storage scrolls from the unlabeled that a crazy, insane, and highly unlikely solution to the puzzle came to her mind. At first she simply wished to dismiss it, however there was something that one of her Justicar trainers had once told her that made her curious about the possibility of it being true. After all, '_When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth._' made a lot of sense whenever Naruto was involved.

She finally got her chance to test the theory when she and Hanabi were storing the labeled scrolls onto the shelves so their labels were readable. "So... when is your Mistress going to be collared?"

"Oh sometime tonight I suspe..." Hanabi started before freezing in mid-sentence and blushing heavily. "Y... you weren't s...supposed to know..."

Haku simply smiled warmly at the younger girl and returned to work, wondering just what this sense of fear building in her chest meant. It wasn't that Master Uzumaki was just going to forget about her, right?

Right?

In the main office of the dungeons, Naruto had recovered from the emotional and mental bombshell that his father was none other than the former Supreme Master Namikaze. But thinking about it, he'd always tried to model himself after his idol, the self-same Fourth, so he should have suspected something when he knew he had the same hair and eyes as him.

This also brought up something that made him rather curious, and so like always he decided to ask. "Supreme Master... M...my father was the former Supreme Master, so I know why I was not given his surname... what a major blow it would be if I got captured or turned out to be submissive... but... why Uzumaki?"

Leaning back into his chair, the old man stroked his beard in thought before answering. "Never was there a doubt of you turning submissive Master Uzumaki... not in my mind at least. No, we chose the last name Uzumaki since it was your mother's surname, and since Kushina never legally changed her name, we could use it without any problems..."

"That... makes sense..." Naruto mused while rubbing his eyes in frustration. There was a lot that the Supreme Master wasn't saying, and probably a ton more that only his parents could have told him. But at least now he knew he didn't come out of thin air, there were names he could look up, scrolls and tomes of knowledge that could lead him to knowing his parents.

"Supreme Master..." Hinata spoke up quietly as she moved about nervously in her chair. "I... I remember that the Uzumaki were famous Masters and Mistresses in what was once the Land of Whirlpools... Is... Is Master Uzumaki of that clan?"

"As far as I know, Kushina was among the survivors from the Land of Whirlpools' destruction. She arrived here with several scrolls, techniques, and seals. There are several survivors out there, and I have been trying to find any that could be related to you... but without many positive results..." Sarutobi explained calmly while lowering his head. "She and your father met in the Dominants Academy, and it was there that they fell in love."

Naruto noticed that for some odd reason Hinata had a deepening blush forming on her cheeks, even as she seemed to shyly peek at him occasionally. He supposed it was nice to hear romance stories like that, but it really didn't help matters much right now. "Didn't my mother have her own enemies? I mean, either way I was gonna be hunted... right?"

"Well... there was the incident with the Kumo masters kidnapping her... but they have shown no other interest in you since then..." Sarutobi answered while shaking his head. "Other than that... we have heard of suggestions of other groups showing interests, but our best agents haven't been able to find out who..."

"So... either the known threats from my father's past, or the possible threats of my mother's..." Naruto answered quietly before putting his face into his palms. "I just can't seem to win, can I?"

Sarutobi gave a soft chuckle as he shook his head. "I would not say that Master Uzumaki... since you have advanced to Master level 1 in the shortest time we've ever seen before... and have a lovely slave... as well as..."

He simply indicated towards Hinata who 'eeped' quietly as she bulshed and shrunk down in her seat. "Y...yes... y... you have me Master Uzumaki... I... If you would collar me..."

Looking at the shy, blushing girl, who was herself looking down at her fingers poking each other, Naruto had to really consider what she'd just said. If he heard her right, she just offered to give up her Mistress status and become his slave, something that hadn't been heard of in years. Most times it was a Mistress and Master joining dungeons. But there was more than just the two dominants and their submissives to consider right now. "You... do realize that doing this would give me control of the future of the Hyuuga clan, right?"

"Y...yes..." Hinata answered while looking down at the ground shyly. She knew exactly what that meant, as the heiress of the Hyuuga line. As both of the daughters of the current clan-head would be under the rule of another master, the twelfth floor be given over to Naruto upon her father's retirement. But she knew something more. Naruto would do more for the clan in a few minutes as head, than the entire line of her ancestors and the elders had done in decades of control.

There was also the clans under their control to consider, but most of them seemed to be aligned to his beliefs, and she hoped none of them would object overly much, as she didn't want to cause trouble for Naruto. The Aburame saw the Hyuugas as the queen clan to their hive, and she prayed that the ceding of control to the mysterious floor thirteen would be smooth with them.

The Inuzuka were also of a like mentality, and given more to a pack mentality than a hive mind. Naruto might have a bit of with a couple of the younger members, but she knew that once he'd gained their favor there could be no clan more loyal. From what she'd overheard in the meetings her father had with the current clan head, her daughter Hana had definite appreciation for Naruto, and might just be willing to take up a collar under him.

Finally there was the Akimichi clan, who got a raw deal when one of their restaurants went under due to vandalism. Apparently as part of the deal for someone to take the property from them, they had to turn over their seat and dungeon floor. However, before the Uchiha could buy them out, the Hyuuga clan made an impressive offer, and turned the land into a prosperous business venture with the Akimichi running the kitchens. Most of the slaves owned by them turned out to be excellent chefs, and were given positions in accordance to their talents.

It had become even more profitable once it started making cinnamon rolls. After all, Hinata's love for it paled in comparison to some of the elders on the Hyuuga clan council. But that was a clan secret, so she wasn't about to bring that up.

A faint click alerted her to reality, just in time to see Naruto sitting back with a wide smile on his face. "There, it looks good on you..." Naruto stated proudly while admiring his collar around her neck. Sarutobi even held up a mirror for her to look into with a warm smile of his own. Shakily she took the mirror and viewed the collar about her neck.

She hadn't been rejected, she hadn't been laughed at. None of her fears were coming true, and all of her dreams were being realized in a simple clicking of a collar about her neck. She was Naruto's to do with as he pleased. "T...Thank you M...master... I... I hope this one serves you well..."

"I'm sure you will Hinata," Naruto answered with a bright smile, before holding up two collars and indicating towards the outside. "Now... would you mind collaring your former slaves? I have to talk to the Supreme Master a little more... Listen to Haku for now, we'll figure out positions later. Okay?"

"Yes Master, as you wish..." Hinata answered before practically skipping out of the room on cloud nine with the collars in tow.

Naruto smile lasted up until she left the room before he turned on the Supreme Master, his smile still perfectly cemented into place. "Supreme Master... should I be expecting a visit from one very pissed father soon?"

"No Master Uzumaki, instead if he arrives, he should be very pleased with you," the old man stated before pulling out a pipe and asking permission to light it. Naruto knew he was being polite, but waved him on, even sliding over the old ashtray he liked to use. After a few puffs of smoke, he sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Hiashi has known about his daughter's... disposition for a while, and even of her feelings for you. However, she was the clan heir, and as such had to be a Mistress. Her younger sister was to be a slave of their cousin Neji, however Hinata collared her first, the very night she became eligible in fact. The other girl, Tenten I believe, was a target of Neji's as she was accused of breaking into Hyuuga lands by the council. However, Hinata pulled rank and took the girl as her own. I shall have to pull up their scrolls, but I believe that Tenten shall serve as an excellent combat slave with your Haku... Hanabi looks to be a good one for running the show while you are busy... and Hinata..."

Here the old man broke off with a blush and a slight cough, muttering about how if he were only a few decades younger. He took a deep drag on his pipe before letting out a plume of smoke towards the fireplace, which seemed to suck it straight up. "Hinata from my observations and the Intelligence branch's dealings with her is a curious mix. In part she would be an excellent cook, but she also has skills in medicine, combat, and intelligence gathering... beyond that there is also her training as a mistress..."

Naruto considered the Supreme Master's words carefully for a few minutes, weighing his options silently before a smile broke out on his face. "That could work out very nicely..." he muttered softly while rubbing his hands together. "I think I know exactly what I'm going to do with her... I'm going to make her and Haku both into my right-hand slaves... Maybe Tenten as a third... at least for now..."

"That is a rare honor Master Uzumaki... most do not even consider giving their slaves such a trusted position any more..." Sarutobi mused, remembering his own right-hand slave. Oh how he missed her, the mother of his children, the love of his life, and one of the wildest rides in bed outside of the... oh he should warn Naruto about that... but he felt the young master could handle it.

"How has your... other slave been?" he asked, mostly to divert the nosebleed he felt building as his thoughts delved deeper into the pleasures Naruto would find if he ever attempted to fulfill that aspect of being a master.

"Kitsune? Oh she's doing great, really nice and docile, but she has some attitude issues that are being worked out..." Naruto answered before digging into his jacket for a few minutes and pulling out a scroll, unrolling it a bit he nodded to himself before handing it over. "Here's my report so far..."

Sarutobi took a moment to puff from his pipe before he took the scroll and tucked it under his arm. "Good... good, I expect you to keep me updated about her, and the rest of your exploration of Master Space..."

"As ordered Supreme Master sir..." Naruto answered with a sigh as he bowed his head, after all he was going to keep track of his tenants anyhow, might as well have a good reason to write it down, so he's not carted off to the funny farm if his notes are discovered.


	14. Chapter 14

Just a heads up, I've started up a forum off of FFn, just follow the link in my FFn forum's General Discussion thread, you'll be able to talk to me directly, and see a bit more of the activity behind the magic.

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Hinata didn't know what to expect when she met Haku as a slave, instead of a mistress, but the ice cold glare and disdain was something she was used to. No matter how much it hurt, she couldn't let it show. After all, she didn't want to be hated, not by someone she's going to be living and spending many years to come with.

"Haku... I... I would l...like to be friends with you..." Hinata offered, before shrinking back from the increasingly hostile glare she was getting from the other slave. Pulling back, she found herself wondering why she hated her so much.

Turning away she found her former slaves watching her from across the room. They showed that this wasn't normal for Haku, and so Hinata knew that it was something she'd done. But she hadn't done anything except... being a former mistress that was collared. "You're jealous..." Hinata stated calmly as she turned back to the ice queen.

"I am not jealous..." Haku answered sharply, her eyes narrowing as she stalked and loomed over Hinata's shorter frame. "I'm just wondering why you think you're more than me... us... You are no more than they are. You may work for Master Uzumaki, but your old life ended when you took that collar..."

Feeling something building inside her, she swallowed her initial reaction to cringe back and apologize, and instead went on the offensive. "I... I have never once said I was better, I want to be your friend. I want to be your equal. We are both slaves to Master Uzumaki, and it is in him that we have to prove ourselves... You said I was no better than you, that's true, but you are no better than I am."

Haku opened her mouth to respond, only to freeze before she started. Hinata could see the inner debate raging inside of her chocolate eyes. Calmly, and very slowly Hinata reached out and hugged the slave before her. "Haku, I can never replace you... nor do I want to... Master Uzumaki has a big heart, that is what drew me to him first. Look into your heart, and tell me he doesn't have room for all of us in there."

She could feel the woman stiffen against her arms, pulling back slightly she smiled warmly at Haku and nodded. "You do know that he's more likely to use you during his travels than me, right? I love him, and wish to always be near him, but... I know that I'm not suited for missions. So I only ask that you keep our master safe."

Smiling, Hinata stepped away from Haku and picked up a mop and bucket, going to clean one of the rooms that had been left untouched thus far. Hanabi and Tenten set about tidying up the stacks of scrolls that they had found without any visible labels for Master Uzumaki to sort through, fingering their new collars occasionally with pleased smiles on their faces.

Haku reached up and touched her collar in silent thought, as she weighed Hinata's words carefully in her mind. She'd always known that she wouldn't be the only slave that Naruto would take, but for some reason she felt threatened by these three. No, to be honest it was Hinata herself that had sparked this feeling in her.

Did she honestly think that little of Master Uzumaki, that she was trying to make a power trip among the slaves like this? He had trusted her to be in charge in his absence and she all but attacked the other slaves. Wandering out of the room, she left the others to their self-appointed duties silently. She didn't know where she was going, just that she was heading somewhere.

Eventually she found herself watching Hinata silently as she scrubbed away at the floor of a bathroom. There was something haunting about the soft wordless song she hummed as she scrubbed, coupled with the nearly magical way she danced with the mop made Haku feel clumsy and awkward, even as she knew that she wasn't. It was the breasts probably, outside of her Justicar garb, she was often mistaken for a cross-dressing boy, but Hinata would never suffer that problem.

She was feminine in every sense of the word, and that was part of what was threatening Haku.

Turning away, she pushed herself off the wall, and froze as she heard Hinata's soft voice from behind her. "You love him Haku, your body screams it nearly as much as my own..." Haku turned around to see Hinata looking at her in the mirror, showing that she'd seen her for a while now. "Perhaps in time you can grow to accept what I have, that another's love doesn't diminish our own."

And with that lightning coated hand through her heart, Hinata had reached the core of Haku's emotional turmoil. Perhaps it had been true what they said about the Hyuuga eyes seeing things more clearly than any other. Turning away again, she sighed heavily and smiled weakly. "We'll see Hinata... we'll see..." she was a few steps away when she spoke again. "And... thanks."

She didn't look back, and completely missed any sign of a smile on Hinata's face. Instead she went into one of the training rooms and began straightening it out silently. Nor did she see a blonde haired Master watch the end of the argument with a smile on his face. He'd give them a couple more hours before telling them to take their baths.

Until then he had another slave to look in on.

Getting to his private quarters he smiled warmly seeing that it was cozy, comfortable, and had seals that prevented it from gathering dust. This meant instead of cleaning a space for what he was about to do, he could lay out on the bed and get right to it.

He was used to his entrance altering every time he arrived, but this was a new one on him. Gone was the long hallway leading to the room with Lady and Kitsune. In its place instead was a large lounge area with faceless stick figures walking around and pouring tea into cups. Further, he wasn't alone, for right in front of him was the Supreme Master himself.

"Ah Master Uzumaki, welcome... it would seem you have a rare gift... the rumors of the Master's Space lounge have been relegated to the stuff of legends, but now I see that you have awoken it again..." Sarutobi offered while getting his tea cup refilled by the nearest serving drone. "My thanks to you Master Uzumaki... now if only we have a few more true masters... but alas..."

"So... this is Master Space? Cool... much better than my dungeon for Kitsune..." Naruto mused while looking around curiously. Settling into a chair, he sighed and considered just how much he'd have to do to make the place more to his liking. Kitsune was showing marked improvement, and a more welcoming atmosphere might make her a bit happier. With that happiness, Naruto might just break that final wall she had against him.

Nothing was said between the two masters, allowing them to enjoy their teas in peace. One of the drones walked over and held out a menu, which he took and looked over curiously before handing it back. It was odd in his opinion that there was teas, juices, coffees, and even some ice cream drinks, but there were no alcoholic beverages.

Thinking on it, he figured it was because the masters had to remain in control and he could already tell the minute amount of caffeine and sugars in the tea was already waking him up far more than it normally did. That must mean the alcohol would be stronger too.

Settling into his chair further he watched the drones walking about, letting his mind go as blank as their faces. He couldn't see nor hear the other masters that were drinking the other cups of tea, and that caught his attention. Looking around, there was only Sarutobi studying him quietly. "Umm... Supreme Master..."

"Naruto, please here we are all equals... you may call me Hiruzen..." the old man stated warmly with a smile. "At least here... if you don't feel comfortable with that, why don't you just try Sarutobi or jii-san?"

"Right... Jii-san..." Naruto tried quietly while leaning his elbows against his knees lightly. "You and I both see the other cups being drank right?"

"Correct..."

"Does that mean there are others that see us drinking, but not us ourselves? That there are other Masters and Mistresses waiting for us out there, following the path of the True Master?" the blonde asked while futzing with his cup of tea. He'd never been a big fan of ghosts and such, and this was bordering too much on that territory for his comfort.

"It would be logical to think that is accurate Naruto..." Sarutobi answered before sipping his tea slowly. Naruto wished he had the emotional control of the older man, but he knew that would always be an issue he'd have to work with as he walked his Master's Path.

"Do you know how we get out of the lounge into our own minds?" Naruto asked curiously, while finishing his tea.

"Maybe we should ask our hosts..."Sarutobi answered while indicating the drone that was coming over to refill Naruto's tea. It stopped a few steps away as it noticed the attention being given to it, before holding out a strange device with glowing buttons that read: food, drink, home, privacy, and summon slave.

Deciding to try his luck, he reached out and pressed the home button, before finding himself sitting on the floor of his dungeon, in front of a stunned Kitsune and a Lady that was all but sending out neon bright waves of curiosity. "So that's how I get here from the Lounge..."

"The Lounge, Master Uzumaki? Congratulations on awakening it for the Master Spirits of others..." Lady stated while she looked down at Kitsune who went back to scrubbing the floor with a brush held in her mouth.

"Yeah, but eventually we'll need to teach the future masters and mistress the true path..." Naruto stated sadly while shaking his head sadly. "Maybe I should try to awaken someone else, but I just don't know how... What's with her?"

"Let it come to you naturally Master Uzumaki, that is the best way in my opinion... as for her..." Lady explained before petting Kitsune's ears lightly. "It seems that this naughty, naughty little Kitsune here thought she could get away with swearing... this is her punishment."

"Ah... just be careful not to make her swallow too much soap... that'll only make her sick, and we don't need that. Okay?" Naruto answered before stroking the latex covered form of Kitsune. "And if she does a good job, why don't you take her out to the garden we had that picnic in?"

"Yes Master Uzumaki, excellent idea," Lady answered with a proud tone to her voice. "Is there anything you need?"

"Oh, no, I wanted to check out my eggs to test a theory I developed..." Naruto explained while standing up and heading towards the room housing the eggs. "Just got back from Wave, and I'm a bit tired tonight, so after this I think I'll take my bath, have the slaves take theirs, and then go to bed..."

"Very well Master Uzumaki... might I suggest bathing with your slaves? It will build your relationship with them..." Lady suggested playfully, and Naruto could almost swear she had a smirk on her face under the mask.

Naruto for his part blushed heavily at the thought of bathing in a sea of beautiful slaves like she'd suggested. But it wasn't time for that just yet, no it had to wait until he and they knew more about each other. "I don't think so Lady... not yet anyhow... but..."

"Master?" Lady inquired curiously as she directed Kitsune to a spot she'd missed previously.

"But I might hold a meeting and name my right-hand slaves before the baths..." Naruto finished before ducking into the egg room. He didn't see nor hear the soft chuckling of Lady as she watched the boy vanish from view.

"So much like his father that one..." Lady mused quietly before nudging Kitsune. "Get up, let's go outside for some fresh air... but first... a change of outfits..."

Naruto missed Lady stripping and dressing Kistune in a simple sundress, before walking her out of the room by a leash. Instead he found something he'd expected, and two things he hadn't awaiting him in the room when he got there. First was the submissive spirits of Haku and whom he assumed was Hinata free of their cages kneeling before him in supplication.

Getting them to stand up, he took the opportunity to study them quietly.

The lavender hued spirit that he guessed was Hinata was to his left, while Haku was to his right. Haku had her mask off and attached to her waist's belt, while other ones accenting her form nicely. He really hoped that she got into the Justicar program, because the outfit was amazingly suited for her. Skin tight black latex, red belts strapped across her body, giving her a sharp, lethal look, while the soft chocolate of her eyes spoke of her submission to him.

However it was Hinata that he was a bit surprised about. He couldn't recognize her save for the hair cut and style she wore. As she was practically poured into a full body latex suit, with two small belts around her arms holding metal loops for hooking to a chain. Her ample chest was pushed out even further by a leather strap running down between her breasts, before splitting and running underneath in a harness that served as an impromptu bra. The harness continued down her front and backside with parallel straps that met between her legs, and attached to two more ring bearing straps on either of her thighs.

The topping to the outfit was that she was blindfolded, gagged, wore two hardened rubber bunny-ears, and had a cute little puff-ball tail that seemed to be fastened to the base of the harness as if she really did have one. It was a very nice outfit, and he would definitely have to look into getting one for her to wear for him. On her hands were thick gloves, shaped like paws, while on her feet were a pair of ballet boots shaped like bunny feet, with springs in the heels to cause her to keep bouncing and jiggling even when standing still. The collar bearing his mark about her neck was almost as rich as the toppings on ramen. As he studied her, the outfit changed as her paws moved in front of her, with a chain slithering out and binding them together at the wrists, holding them directly in front of her submissively.

Walking over, he began inspecting the two of them, running his hand casually over their arms, legs and stomachs, so as to tease them, but not arouse them too much. As they let out cute little moans and pants, he wished he had more time. For he couldn't play with them properly right now, but he still wanted to let them know that he approved of them. The blush on their cheeks, as well as the way the clung to each other made him feel that they understood his message. Quietly he leaned in to their cheeks before walking away. "Very nice ladies... very nice indeed... Flash..."

At the call of his name, the masked man arrived in an appropriate flash of light, slurping down a cup of instant ramen. "Err... Hello My Creator... please don't tell Lady I was snacking... she gets so upset when I don't invite her along... but she was busy with Kitsune and..."

"And what are those?" Naruto asked curiously, pointing to the two new eggs nestling the black egg that had, unless he was mistaken, had grown to the size of a house cat instead of the chicken egg size it had been before. One was a lovely shade of forest green, while the other reminded him of the violets he had grown one year, trying to please a slave into accepting his collar.

"They are eggs sir, arrived shortly after Chocolate and Lavender were released from their cage and egg respectively..." Flash answered while finishing the cup of ramen with a slurp of broth. Maybe Naruto should add in a late supper with the slaves before they take their baths... the ramen was starting to make him rather hungry, and he wasn't sure when the slaves had last eaten.

"I see... any suspicions about these two?" Naruto asked curiously, even though he had his own. Walking over he stroked the trio lightly, enjoying the soft moans and purring noises coming from them. The violet one he wondered if it wasn't Hinata's sister Hanabi, while the green one he imagined would be Tenten. There was still no clues to the owner of the black spirit, and it really made him curious.

"I believe they are the two slaves you gained with Lavender today sir... but I am uncertain..." Flash answered, confirming that Naruto's suspicions weren't just off the wall guesses on his part. Straightening up, Naruto sighed as he looked at the black egg once again.

That one would continue to be a mystery he guessed, since he had no idea who could be such a powerful and unassuming color as black. Walking to the door, he shook his head and gave the two hatched slaves a kiss on the cheeks again while getting a cute little moan from both by playfully groping their asses. "You two be good... I think I'll be stopping in again tonight..."

Opening his physical eyes he sighed as he realized just how hungry he was. A late supper would be a good idea, but he'd have to hold a meeting with the slaves before that. In part to figure out which of them could cook, while also assigning Haku and Hinata's elevated positions.

Walking out of his room, he found Tenten sweeping his office, making it a little easier for him to summon the others. "Tenten, go get the others, I wish to talk to the four of you for a little bit..."

Tenten bowed deeply, with a solemn "Yes Master" before disappearing out the door. It seemed that he would need to work on being the master that Tenten wanted, or at least letting her find what she wanted in him. He was dreading the paperwork that tomorrow would bring, and hoped that someone would be able to help him.

It would have to be the paperwork courses he skipped out on the most at the academy, wouldn't it?


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Notes: IMPORTANT - Ladies and Gentlemen who have enjoyed this story thus far: There comes a time in every author's life in which they have to pause and admit that they cannot do justice to the story that they have nursed from its infancy to it's current point. And at that admission they can either give up or press on doing the best they can. And alas, I'm sorry to say...

I'm gonna have to cut down on the number of updates because I just got a job. Go to the forums at http:/ magi-tower . forum-free . net/ if you want to talk with me, and for more content than what I'm allowed to get away with on FFn... also post something of yours.

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Naruto was pleasantly surprised at how quickly his four slaves gathered together, kneeling before his desk expectantly. Oh how nice it was to have slaves that wanted to please him. Taking a moment to enjoy the view of the top of their heads, he signaled for them to rise. "I am not sure when you last ate, but I suspect that the four of you are hungry like myself. Unfortunately I do not know which of you can cook the best, if at all."

The young master had to fight down the urge to chuckle as Tenten and Haku both flinched slightly at the mere mention of cooking. He knew from experience that Haku while being a brilliant, even wonderful combat slave, she lacked any skill for cooking. As about a pound of charcoal in his and Kakashi's stomach could attest to. It had been a long trip back to Konoha after that, especially as the even Kakashi's best could only make a bland porridge.

From her reaction, he guessed that Tenten would be similarly effective in the kitchen.

Like well trained slaves they quickly schooled their features and remained silent until addressed. Watching them silently he weighed his options carefully, thinking how to show them that he understood their limits, but not insult them. Finally, he chose something that he hoped would convey the message. "I do not know what is in the kitchens, but I will trust Haku and Hinata to lead the rest of you in making something for us. I'd prefer ramen if possible, but make what you can."

"Yes master," came the ragged chorus of the four voices. A smile spread on his face as he noticed the wheels turning in the heads of the two he'd singled out.

"Hinata, Haku... have you heard the term... Right-hand slave?" Naruto asked neutrally while adjusting his chair. The stupid thing was set far too low for his liking, but what do you expect? The Supreme Master was at least two feet taller than him. As he returned his attention to the group, he fought down another chuckle as the two blushed brightly while their eyes were huge.

"Yes, I am considering instating that honor with you two... unless you do not feel up to it..." Naruto commented neutrally while watching steepling his fingers and leaning on his elbows casually. His eyes sparkled with mirth as they worked their jaws in order to find something to say. Instead he simply waved them out. "Go on, you can let me know later if you'd rather not be my right-hand slaves... but for now how about that supper?"

The quad of slaves bowed to their master before scrambling out to find something to make for a late supper. Leaning back into his chair he finally let the chuckle he'd been holding escape. Oh this was going to be fun.

After a moment, he pulled out a pad of paper and a pen, before writing down some notes on what else he had to talk to them about. First there was the incoming office slave, Yuki, that he'd have to tell them about. After that there was the simple matter of finding out about the current political clime through Hinata... Haku should probably be in on that so she was prepared. Especially once they got into the topic of the thirteen clans, and any of the minor ones that should be noted.

Beyond that he'd have to see about getting them trained in the fields suited to them. Hanabi seemed to be more suited to household tasks from what he could see in her moves. Tenten was more sure and solid yet fluidly graceful, much like Haku's movements. He'd have to train all them in the basics at the very least, but he wasn't going to just assume they were untrained, as something was tickling the back of his brain that the Hyuuga sisters had a combat style all their own.

Beyond that he had to set up a shopping trip, that would have to wait until after he got his paycheck from the last mission. That meant he'd have to ensure the paperwork is completed promptly and correctly to make certain he got the money due.

Adding a note, he suggested that the girls grab a bath before his, and then they could all go to bed.

An hour later, the meal was finished, and with it the topics he could cover in the the short span before bedtime. At least he thought it was an hour, but without a clock present it was hard to tell time. He'd have to get a watch out of that first paycheck if possible, since there was no windows to view the sun with. The other topics could be covered in the morning after everyone was rested and refreshed for the new day.

It was while Naruto was reflecting on the changes in his life that the girls enjoyed the baths that they had cleaned earlier that day. It was easily large enough to fit all of them five times over, and seemed to have many warming seals to keep it just the right temperature no matter where they sat. It was impressive, luxurious, and more than the slaves ever dreamed of having once the collars were snapped into place. But it seemed that Naruto, and the previous owners, considered rewards to be a better way of training a slave than punishments. However, they'd seen more than enough evidence that there were punishments aplenty for a slave that tried to buck the system.

Oh, Hinata knew that Minato Namikaze was known as being a master beyond compare, but there were only two problems with that little fact. One, Naruto was not his father, even if he was living up to him in all ways. And two, she couldn't tell the others about Naruto's parentage.

Once she'd taken up Naruto's collar, she had made a silent vow to herself to not reveal to the other slaves anything that would make them see Naruto as anything other than what he was. A kind, gentle master, with a heart big enough to fill the entirety of the Elemental Nations with hope and love, but with a will of steel tempered in the fires of his past.

She knew that he was destined for more than she could ever have hoped to achieve as a mistress, but somewhere deep in her heart, she felt a tiny glimmer of hope that when Naruto is at the end of his journey, she would be at his feet, ready to serve him however she could.

It was a selfish dream, but it was all that she wanted. His love.

During the days while waiting for Naruto to return from his mission, she took and wrote a final message to her father as a mistress. In it she wrote about her desire to be Naruto's slave, and her hopes that one day he would give her the gift of a child and heir to the Hyuuga clan. That she wouldn't be happy as a mistress, and only did so to protect her little sister and Tenten from becoming Neji's slaves.

A day later her father sent her mother's diary with a short reply. He was happy that she'd found someone for her heart to follow, and that the diary would explain more than he could ever say in words.

However one part of his letter finally made sense to her now. At least father would know his neighbors upstairs indeed. Now if only she could work up the nerve to confess her love to the man whose collar she bore.

A splash of water brought her back to reality, as the impish grin of her younger sister flashed into view. "Come on Hinata, stop dreaming about playing with Master, and pay attention."

The blush that sprang up on her face traveled down along her neck and colored even the tops of her breasts that were floating just under the surface of the water. "S...Sorry... w...what were we t...talking about?"

Haku's eyes were glaring at her, or rather she noticed they were glaring down at just under the water level where her... oh... Covering her chest with an arm she shrunk back from Haku's jealous glare, as though the girl had just turned her eyes jade and screamed that she was going to steal Hinata's breasts from her.

That seemed to snap Haku back into the present as well. "We were talking about Master Uzumaki's rapid rise... I have never heard of such a feat, and neither had the others... have you?"

"W...well th...there was one legend in the academy..." Hinata answered while playing with the surface of the water timidly, her eyes fixed on the tiny ripples she was making. "I... I remember something about the m...Master of Six Whips' sons..."

At that name, the slaves all bowed their heads, closed their eyes and fell silent in honor and respect for the first true Master. It was rumored that he had even had slaves from other nations that followed him. But even more than that, his teachings had been passed down through his sons and founded the Guild, which brought about the order and structure their world needed.

After their heads were raised, Hinata continued her tale. "The younger one, the one of his body... filled with the love and hope of peace was rumored to have in only a matter of a few years co-founded and was elected the leader of the Guild. Twelve generations later a young master out of Whirlpool was rumored to have risen through and beyond the ranks of the Guild we know today... I... I do not remember the name. Sorry... But... he was rumored to have been a true master on par with the younger son... and rose beyond the Guild in a matter of a decade..."

"In his first year he had already made it to the top ranks of Lord Masters, and was toeing the line to be a Grand Master," Hinata finished quietly, while the others all took on a thoughtful look. Hinata couldn't help but notice that Haku seemed to have some solid idea whirling more-so than the others, but she didn't want to ask about it so publicly.

A soft ding of an egg timer borrowed from the kitchens rang out, alerting the girls that bath time was over. After all, Master had to bathe yet tonight, and they needed to prepare his bedchambers.

In all the rush, it was rather easy for Haku and Hinata to forget about their rivalry for Master's favor, instead focusing on serving their master as best as they were able. However, something deep in the recesses of their minds told them that they would be better off working together, instead of against each other.

Maybe it was time to listen to that voice?

The next morning found Naruto digesting his breakfast of eggs and rice over several piles of paperwork easily as tall as his own desk. Now all he had to do was sort through the paperwork, and get it turned in promptly so he didn't have to fill out more paperwork just to ensure he got paid sometime this decade, or worse yet, have to fill out the paperwork to explain why he'd lost the paperwork to do with the paperwork.

Oh how he wished that Yuki was already here, for he just knew that she'd be a lot faster at this than he could ever hope to be. Instead he picked up his pen and began sifting through the endless forms awaiting him. Just as he was about to sign the first part of the message, he was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Enter!"

Hanabi walked in with a deep bow before taking a kneeling position with her forehead touching the ground in supplication. Setting aside the pen, he sighed and leaned against the desk actively welcoming the interruption. "Rise Hanabi, what is it?"

In a smooth, practiced motion Hanabi regained her feet and approached the desk timidly. "Master Uzumaki, I apologize for the interruption, but Lord Master Hatake has arrived at the elevator entrance and requests an audience."

"Send him in, and get us some tea... ask if he'd like some snacks," Naruto ordered before moving the form he had set on his desk back onto the pile he'd pulled it from. The seven piles of forms could wait until after his meeting. It wasn't like Kakashi was much for taking his sweet time or anything once he finally made it somewhere.

"By your command Master," Hanabi answered before bowing again and walking out of the room with a silent grace that made Naruto smile. She was certainly a good one for being in a house or dungeon.

A minute later, Kakashi walked into his office, and studied the observed the décor in a single glance. "Not bad kid... not bad at all... it looks like your inheritance paid off," Kakashi mused while sitting down in a chair opposite of Naruto. "Wish I could link my dungeons with yours... stupid contract... Anyhow kid, I though you'd like some help sorting through the paperwork... Supreme Master Namikaze helped me, and well... I kind of think you are my student as he was my teacher..."

"So... you're returning the favor dad did to you, but doing it to me? Makes sense..." Naruto commented while rubbing his chin. "So what is the trick?"

Kakashi's knowing chuckle signaled that Naruto had guessed right in that he knew the truth about Naruto's parentage. After a moment he simply reached over and plucked the top three sheets off each pile and set them on the desk. "You only have to fill these six out, nick your thumb and press it on the seal in the lower left corner. That will fill out all the other forms."

Naruto blinked slowly as he looked at the forms in front of him. It was literally less than one percent of the paperwork that he'd been expecting to fill out. "Why do they have so many pages if you only need these thirty?"

"Simple, redundancy and bureaucracy," Kakashi answered dryly as he pulled out his book and began reading. "This is supposed to be an emergency measure, so don't go around telling everyone. Okay?"

"Sure..." Naruto answered while filling out the forms that he'd been given from Kakashi. In a matter of ten minutes he had his thirty pages finished and ready for the activation. A quick nicking of his thumb with a letter opener later and he had the copying processed. After he finished, he found himself surprisingly drained of energy, like the day he had created as many chains as he could. "Woah..."

"Yeah, that's the other reason... it drains you of some energy real quick. If your office slave uses it, don't let on that you know or else they'll have to stop..." Kakashi explained before a quiet knock on the door caught their attentions.

"Enter," Naruto commanded. A moment later Hanabi glided in, carrying a tea set with cookies on the platter. "Ah good work Hanabi, thank you..."

Clearing a space on the desk, he smiled as Hanabi set the tea set on the desk, bowed and walked out quickly. Waiting until the door was closed before continuing, Naruto poured out some tea for Kakashi and himself. The plate of cookies were set in easy reach of the two of them. "So... how long before I can turn this in?"

"Give it three hours, then a Justicar will stop by asking for completed forms," Kakashi explained while somehow sipping his tea through his face mask, causing some part of Naruto's brain to twitch angrily about it being physically impossible. He told that part to shut up and pointed to what they'd learned about Dominates creating illusions.

Another part of his brain told him to stop arguing with himself, and just enjoy the break Kakashi had kindly granted him. And that he should remember his manners. "Thank you Lord Master... if there is ever something I can do in return for this favor..."

"There is kid..." Kakashi cut in with his trademark eye-smile that caused Naruto's brain to start twitching again. "See... there's the trials coming up, and I'd like you to gain my clan's contract from under Sasuke Uchiha."

"That teme? Why the hell does he have your contract in the first place?" Naruto burst out without thinking, at least having the good graces to blush as his brain caught up. "I mean... well..."

"No, you're right," Kakashi answered with a heavy sigh. "When I was younger, one of the younger members of the Uchiha clan was a subordinate under me. We got into a bad situation during a mission, and he saved my life... sacrificing himself in my place. I was given the Sharingan as his final wish... however his used that to gain control over me and my family's clan holdings."

"I see... so I challenge him at the trials for your contract?" Naruto asked curiously while leaning back in his chair. "I don't want to sound rude, after you helped me so much... but... what if he refuses?"

"He won't... he refuses to believe anyone could be better than him. However, you the lowest rank of his graduating class are currently ranked higher than him by a few levels," Kakashi explained with a smirk to his voice. "I suspect that he'll find you shortly after the start if you compete."

"So it's more that you want your contract out from under him than you want me to face him?" Naruto asked for clarification as he sipped tea. He'd seen the Supreme Master doing it before and it seemed to impress people when he did it, so why not try it himself?

"Basically... if you can get the other contracts without messing up those slaves that wish to be under him, I'd say go for it, since none of us enjoy being under him... Especially since he is among the two anti-guild clan leaders... many of the rest are stuck voting along with him as his subordinates..." Kakashi explained while pulling out a chart of the thirteen clans of Konoha. "The red ones are under Sasuke, the lavander were the Hyuuga controlled clans, the brown are the ones controlled by the Sarutobi clan... and the white is your clan before you took over since the votes were being ran by a judgenatrix until you became a master."

Naruto took a moment to read over the list, and their affiliations in regards to the guild. "It was a dead heat in the pro and anti guild race until I came in..."

"That's right... and from what I've seen..."

"I've been mostly pro-guild..." Naruto answered while frowning as something occurred to him. "Shimura... that's Danzo's clan isn't it?"

Kakashi blinked at the odd question before looking at the part of the list Naruto was indicating. Letting out a heavy sigh he leaned back and thought about it. "Yes... Danzo is the current head of the Shimura clan... why?"

"He's the one that called the Free Hunt on me... and if I was captured by him or his subordinates..." Naruto prompted casually while indicating that Kakashi should be gaining the hint he was dropping.

"He'd have tipped the scales in his favor..." Kakashi answered while seeing where the political power would fall. "Clever... clever indeed..."

"Would you mind me bringing in my right-hand slaves? I think that this discussion would be beneficial for them to be in on as well..." Naruto asked the superior master while leaning back in his chair with a heavy sigh. "Hinata was probably taught of the politics by her father... while Haku has a key viewpoint I'd like to include..."

Kakashi gave Naruto another playful eye-smile while waving dismissively at Naruto. "I don't mind... but let's wait until the forms are picked up..."

"Sounds good," Naruto agreed before pulling out a stack of scrolls he'd been putting off reading until he had time. Including the slave scrolls on his growing collection.

"Mah... if you don't mind... mind explaining your using the archaic tradition of right-hand slaves?" Kakashi asked curiously while he pulled up his book to continue reading.

"Just felt like it..."

"Works."


	16. Chapter 16

Several hours later, Naruto sat alone in his office watching the crackling fire with tired eyes. Though he might seem to have been at peace, he was in fact covering everything that he'd talked with the others about. Even though they had started talking after lunch, they hadn't finished until late into the night, supper having been brought in by Hanabi and Tenten at the proper time.

There was a lot of subtle nuances that Naruto would have missed if Hinata hadn't pointed them out, while Haku asked questions that only one not born and raised in Konoha would have thought of. A lot of the points he was reviewing were of the other clans, in particular their leanings, strengths and weaknesses.

Taking the list from top to bottom, he thought about his current standing as a relative outsider, newcomer, and upstart. Tales of his battles had most likely been passed on through the Judgenatrix and Justicar ranks, and via an official report to the clan heads themselves. Meaning that several of the selfsame masters he was thinking about were figuring out that he was not to be taken lightly. Beyond that, he'd have to rely on his unpredictability to make it through the first few months and possibly beyond.

But he had a powerful ally in the form of his downstairs neighbor the Hyuuga clan, who had stated their intention to pledge their fealty to the one that had claimed the two clan heirs as his own, after he proved himself the equal of the current clan head. Hiashi had even sent up a gift basket of cinnamon rolls. At first he wasn't sure what that was about, but Hinata explained that it was a traditional gift in the Hyuuga clan, many of whom were completely addicted to the sweet pastry.

After ensuring that Tenten, Haku, and he got a couple each, they turned the basket over to the Hyuuga sisters. Beyond that, he had found out that the strength of the Hyuuga clan was the power of their eyes to track the dominant and submissive powers of a person, and properly channel them to perform the tasks the Hyuuga wanted. The dual nature of the chakra system confused Naruto until he came to understand that it was as though a person was a coin. Both the heads and tails, or submissive and dominant energies in this case, were present, but only one could be used at a time.

There were theories that one could utilize both elements of their chakra at the same time, but no one had been able to prove it to possible yet. It was said that there was even a bet running on the current powers of where the first person to prove the ability to do so would come from. Larger rewards were being set for those that could select the specific individual.

Below the Hyuuga came the Aburame clan, whose powers rested with their control over insects, and were primarily information gatherers for the guild. They agreed with the Hyuuga assessment of him, and concented to be under his command, so long as he proved to be a viable queen to the hive. And while he wasn't sure if he liked being called a queen, he did appreciate the sentiment of not having to outright prove himself right off the bat.

Conversely below them was a clan that wanted to challenge him right away. He remembered Kiba Inuzuka from their time together at the academy, and knew that he wasn't about to let just anyone be dominant over him. As he was the first master of his generation, he was to take over the clan when his mother ceded control, however he was taking some actions right now for the future of the clan. One of those actions was to challenge Naruto's authority publicly. Most likely, Naruto would have to dual him in the trials... along with Sasuke and Neji.

Thinking about the enemies he seemed to be making, he realized that they were likely to gang up on him. It was possible for multiple masters to team up and challenge a single master, which had happened in the past. But he thought it was more likely that the most patient of them would wait until Naruto had worn himself out on the first two, and then try to swoop in for the victory. Reconsidering the personalies, he found out that not only was it unlikely that they'd team up, but also that he could plot out their order. Kiba would charge in first, followed by Sasuke who had watched the first fight, and finally Neji would strike.

Returning his thoughts to the complex weave of politics and headaches that he'd opened with his can of worms, he reviewed the Akimichi floor. They had gotten out of the guild's businesses a few generations back but retained their floor and paid dues to the guild every year. If it hadn't been for a bad business deal with the Uchiha the generation before they left the guild, they'd have turned their floor into a restaurant/lounge for the residents of the Stone Monolith. Instead it was left locked away until someone could win their contract out from the obstinent Uchiha clan that forbade the conversion.

Naruto couldn't see the reasoning behind the forbidding of making something like that in the Monolith, after all they'd still have dominants and submissives working to a common goal. This one would just not be nearly as sexually focused as most of the current clans were. Which got strange looks from Kakashi and Hinata as he mentioned this during the conversation. Haku had kept up a mask of indifference, but he could tell she sensed something off as well.

Sighing he tipped his head back to stare up at the ceiling quietly for a few minutes. The Akamichi had several successful eateries in the village, so the problem wasn't with them running the business, but rather the Uchiha themselves in his opinion. But maybe it was because Sasuke was such an anal retentive pillow humper that he couldn't see any of the other Uchiha being any better.

Then there was Kakashi's floor, which reminded him that he had to challenge Sasuke for a battle to free the Lord Master from the prick. It wasn't anything personal, he just liked Kakashi, and really loathed Sasuke. Just business after all.

After that came the Yamanaka floor, which had gone under Sasuke's sway when Ino became his submissive. According to Hinata, Inoichi did not appreciate the new owner, and would prefer being pro-guild. Haku wanted to know about their skills and abilities, and it turned out that they were skilled in the inner workings of a person's mind. They'd even found a way to working with the chakra of a person that they were against.

He'd have to be careful if Ino was brought to the field, since he had so much dominant energy, she could quite easily turn that against him. She could also reveal the secrets of his 'Master Space' that he didn't want getting out, after all. Primarily his concern was about Kitsune and the others inside the realm that he had to protect.

After that was the Nara floor, which was more of a library of knowledge than a dungeon. They had gone under the Uchiha banner shortly after the Yamanaka clan, due to a long standing agreement between the two clans of mutual submission and domination. Their powers were their impressive intelligence and the use of shadows to manipulate people, sadly the reverse part of the Nara clan was that they were lazy.

It wasn't just that they were lazy, but it was as though they had barely any motivation to do anything outside of existing. Why they were even in the guild in the first place was a mystery to all but the clan themselves. And they weren't talking.

Apparently the library itself was sealed against the Uchiha, and had been since they'd taken over. To Naruto it seemed that it was a good thing to ban the Uchiha, but since they owned it, the ban had extended to all but the Justicar and Judgenatrix members. While it kept dangerous knowledge out of Sasuke's hands, it also meant that beneficial knowledge was currently lost to the good masters and mistresses of Konoha.

He'd really love to get his hands on some of those scrolls about seals.

After them came the Uchiha clan, that was the source of many of the problems facing the guild and the other clans. They were self-centered, egotistical, and to be quiet honest, rather shitty masters. Their reliance on their sharingan eyes lead to a lack of originality in their combat styles, and little more than mindless drones tormented for days on end at the hands of the Uchihas that had awakened the higher levels of the Sharingan.

Kakashi defended an exception to the rule of the Uchiha clan, in that the one that had left him the eye currently housed in his left socket had been a kind, caring, and generous master to all his slaves. He'd also been something of a prankster, and used his copied techniques in a creative way. And he was the person that Kakashi had modeled his career after, in a loving memory of his former allies and friends.

But that still didn't mean the Uchiha clan didn't deserve it when Itachi went psycho and slaughtered the vast majority of them. Maybe certain members would have been alright if they'd been left alive, after all Naruto remembered Sasuke's mom was very pretty and had always given him treats when she met him.

It was a shame that she died, she would have been quite the hottie even to this day, which he'd wisely kept to himself.

The floor under the asshole of Monolith was the merchant clan: Haruno. They owned many of the import shops on main-street, and used to do quite a lot of the importing of supplies for the masters of the Monolith. Now... now they were exclusive importers of Sasuke Uchiha, which meant that he got all the best goods that weren't made in Konoha itself. And that annoyed the hell out of Naruto for some reason.

Danzo was next with the Shimura floor, and the less said about that disturbing level the better.

The tiny reason that they had to get new flooring was to prevent the blood from getting stuck between the flagstones was the among the very least of the stories he had heard about there.

Next was the Senju clan, who were missing currently due to Tsunade leaving the village after a disastrous incident with her lover, younger brother, and a lot of blood. Currently the floor was in the holding of the Supreme Master, by special request of Tsunade herself, the last surviving member of the clan.

After that was the Sarutobi clan's floor, and both Hinata and the guild reported that it was by far the best of the existing master or mistress clans currently active. He had always focused on the happiness of his slaves, instead of his own. Further he had been granted the title of Supreme Master for a very good reason over any of the others.

Apparently the base level, which was below ground level, reflected the desires of the current Supreme Master, and right now it was a simple office level, with only a few of his most trusted slaves being present. The only people that saw that level and left were Justicars, Judgenatrix, Clan-heads during a meeting in the council hall, or prisoners. Of them the only ones that saw it on anything simulating a regular basis was the Judgenatrix members.

Below the Supreme Master's office level was the Justicar and Judgenatrix floors, which from what Kakashi had told him. If he'd ever see the inside of them, he would never emerge the same, if at all. For some reason, he just felt like taking the Lord Master's word on it.

The common name among the Masters, when well outside of hearing distance of any of the corps members, was Hell.

And the biggest surprise for him, was that if he went to a separate entrance on the top of the mountain, he'd be taken to the levels above him. Which were in fact members of Konoha that had been granted a special placement on the Monolith, but not enough to earn an equal placement with the Thirteen clans. The noteworthy ones among them that the others had told him about were Anko Mitarashi, a pariah of the village due to her former master turning traitor and leaving her behind to take the blame.

The most curious thing he found out about was the cursed seal on her neck, it sounded like something he could remove if he studied up enough, but until he saw it, there was no way to be sure.

Then there was Gekko Hayate, who was a Grand Master of swordsmanship, and one of the key guardians of Konoha. His service to the guild had earned him a place in the Monolith, but his failing health meant that others thought he was an easy target. This assumption led to many defeats at his hands.

Finally there was the holdings of Iruka Umino, whose service as the academy instructor for the guild had earned him a place on the Monolith. Though he was a master, there were rumors that he had made slaves of some of the most wild and uncontrolled people in the village. If Naruto had known that back in the Academy, maybe he wouldn't have given the scarred man that was like a brother to him such a hard time.

Not likely, but it was something to think about.

Yawning widely, he decided to get some fresh air before the day was completely wasted. Walking out of the office, he found Tenten standing on guard and as he moved past her she followed. Getting to the elevator, he paused and turned to Tenten. The slave knelt before him, in a position of fealty but not that she wished to talk to him. "Tenten... what are you doing?"

"Master... the others and I realized that you are likely to be targeted by others, and wish to protect you. We pray that you do not punish us for this, for it is not doubt in your abilities master, but rather concern that they would overwhelm you," Tenten answered honestly, her face turned towards the ground through the entire thing. Smiling fondly at the thought of how his slaves felt about him, he tapped her shoulder lightly.

After she raised to her proper position, he let her see his smile and nodded. "I understand Tenten, and if I had thought about it, I probably have asked for one of you to accompany me... thank you. Do you wish to gather anything else?"

"No master, I have my weapons..." Tenten answered, revealing some storage seals embroidered into the inside of her clothing.

Naruto smiled again, this time it was his broad foxy grin that he'd almost gotten patented, until he got tired of going to the office and arguing his case. "Let's go for a walk then..." Naruto ordered, pressing the button for the elevator.

After they got on, and started the long trip up to the surface, Naruto decided to really get to know the woman currently serving as his escort. "Tenten... I read over your file earlier, and I'm wondering why you went into the submissive path instead of going into being a mistress in your own right?"

The deep blush on Tenten's face indicated that something more than what he thought was going on here. Turning away slightly she lowered her head, and gulped some lump that had formed in her throat. "It's... it's difficult to speak about Master... but I... I must remember I was different then than now... and I beg for you to understand that..."

"You don't have to tell me Tenten..." Naruto offered, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm your master, and the past is what made you into the beautiful young woman that has come to be my submissive... I cannot promise that it will not change my thoughts about you, but I can promise that no matter what, I will not abandon you."

Naruto watched as a change overcame the girl's face. At first it went from the burning blush on her cheeks, to a look of surprise, and then a warm accepting smile with hints of softness that she'd been lacking since he'd known her. It really made her more beautiful, as though she was lowering a wall against the rest of the world. "Thank you master... I joined the slave program because I wanted to fight..."

Naruto didn't see what was so embarrassing about it, but he supposed there was more to the story than what had been stated so far. As she continued, he realized how right he'd been. "But as an orphan I couldn't enter into the domination path without sponsership... so I thought that I would just observe a couple lessons before I make a decision. I had actually been told about the Master of Weapons Gekko Hayate and was going to approach him... but that's when I saw the worst mistake of my life."

Carefully, Naruto pulled the older girl into a hug from behind, and gently rubbed her stomach. "What mistake is that?"

"I fell in lust with Neji Hyuuga..." Tenten bit out, her eyes focusing on the baseboards of the elevator harshly as she felt the burning anger deep inside her. "One minute I'm watching the class, the next I'm signing up to be a submissive, and try to draw Neji's attention. It wasn't until I'd been enrolled fully that I realized two things... Neji Hyuuga was a cruel, hate-filled sadist... and I was forever stuck as a slave. If it hadn't been for Hinata coming to save me, I would likely have been collard by him."

"And?" Naruto asked cautiously while resting his chin on her shoulder lightly.

"And most likely would have been tormented until I was nothing more than a baby bearing shell for him..." Tenten answered in a quiet voice that Naruto had to strain to hear. "Just like what happened to my friend Yori after she was collared by him..."

The silence of the two was only interrupted by the dings as the elevator continued its steady climb to the surface. Breaking the hug momentarily, Naruto pulled a cloth out of his pocket and offered it to her quietly. "Do you have any dreams currently?"

"Y...yes Master..." Tenten admitted quietly while sliding her eyes over to look at her master, and a faint blush dusted her cheeks again. "It's a bit silly... but I'd like to try and become a Weapon Mistress to serve Konoha under you..."

"What training would it take?" Naruto asked calmly, honestly curious about the path she wanted to travel.

At this Tenten's gaze shifted down and away again, and she told him what it would take. "I... I would have to be trained by a Weapon Master or Mistress, and... and be released from my collar..."

That wasn't what he'd expected, but he knew it would have to be something like that. To give the submissive people under him their dreams, he was willing to sacrifice anything that was asked of him. But it hurt to think that they would be leaving him alone for the rest of his life. If it would be for their happiness he would forsake any chance of having a harem.

"I'll talk to Grand Master Hayate about training you..." Naruto stated quietly while closing his eyes to force himself to smile. "I'll always be there to support you girls..."

"Thank you master..." Tenten answered quietly. If Naruto had left his eyes open, he'd have seen the look of concern she shot him. But as he hadn't, she carefully schooled her features as the elevator doors opened, letting her Master proceed her out.


	17. Chapter 17

If Hinata was nervous about this meeting, she didn't show it. Rather it was her younger sister that was pacing nervously while their master was out and they were waiting for the arrival of their honored guest. Their master had left behind a protective seal on the entryway into the main dungeon complex, and added a few defensive seals to their collars in case someone tried to take them away.

So Hinata chose to trust in their master, and in their own abilities, while sitting nice and still like a stone statue. If anyone had so much as touched her she'd probably have jumped clean through the ceiling. But instead she sat there looking like the picture of serene patience. Finally the elevator arrived with a soft ding, and the two slaves took up their positions, bowing to the elevator with their foreheads touching the ground.

"Rise, and speak freely..." came the grave, serious voice of the man that made up half of their genetic code.

"Greetings Grand-Master Hyuuga, are you well?" Hanabi asked as she rose, being just a hair faster than her older sister.

Hinata finally got a good look at her father, the man she hadn't seen since she'd claimed the title of mistress at the academy. He seemed different today, far older, worn-down, and tired than he had been the last time they'd met. She couldn't help but wonder if he saw his daughters differently as well. "I am well, thank you Hanabi, and you can call me father... I did say speak freely."

A small smile played over Hinata's lips as Hanabi hugged her father close, answering with a muffled "Yes daddy," into his chest. After he cast a warm, sad smile down at her, he lifted his gaze and met with Hinata's for all of half a second before she looked down with a heavy blush.

It had been only a few months since they last saw each other, and in that time she'd lost the title he had pushed her so hard to gain. Countless nights were lost to study, training, and punishing her for poor grades. Instead of the proud mistress with two slaves to her name, she was a right-hand slave to the boy she'd fallen in love with, like so many of the other fangirls out there. However, her crush had accepted her, and seemed to be an honorable man in his responsibilities. "H... Hello Father..."

"Hinata," Hiashi answered in his neutral tone that alerted her to just how much she'd screwed up. He only used that tone when he was fighting down extreme rage and disappointment in her. Lowering her head further she wished she could just go back to her room and hide away. But instead she remained to talk with her father as he'd requested.

"Come here Hinata," her father ordered, pulling away from Hanabi slightly and standing there, waiting for her. She was in for it now, she was going to be punished for failing him again, and she couldn't bear to see Naruto suffer for her failings. Should she resist and let the wards protect her? Should she refuse her father? However, even as these thoughts ran through her mind, she instinctively moved towards her living parent, head still bowed in submission.

As she stopped, two things registered with her mind. One was that the blows she'd been expecting weren't coming. The second, which was directly related to the first was that her father was on one knee before her, his arms wrapped around her in a warm and tender embrace that she had to remember was a parental hug. Softly he whispered into her ear, "I'm so happy you found what your heart desired, and I'm sorry I pushed you along the wrong path."

Stiffening in the unfamiliar contact with the man, she felt millions of feelings race through her, even as her arms shakily reached up and awkwardly hugged him in return. All those years of pain, all that buried resentment, all those nights spent crying in loneliness came back in a wash of anguish that tore into her heart and had tears rolling down her cheeks. But a distant memory, of her as a little girl kneeling in front of a grave sobbing her eyes out while her father cradled her sister and rubbed her back gently.

Had it really been since then that she'd been comforted by her father?

Pulling back, she looked at the man again expecting to see his disappointment, anger and how much he despised how far his daughter had fallen, she only saw warmth, acceptance and love. It was a strange sight in his pale white eyes, but it was something she'd missed growing up. "T...thank you daddy..."

As she watched she could almost see a great weight being lifted from him, as though the years of hardness to her had been as painful for him as it had been for her. His smile spoke volumes that she could never imagine him ever speaking with his own voice.

"I'm glad that you two have found a good master to serve under, and I wish to make our new superior a present..." Hiashi explained while he pulled something out from a pouched she had failed to notice at the small of his back. The moment the scroll caught her eyes, they nearly bugged out of their sockets. Some minor part of her mind informed her that her little sister also recognized the scroll as well.

It was a pair of scrolls wrapped inside themselves that contained a set of instructions that had been handed down the Hyuuga bloodline for generations. The instructions to create and destroy the seals that bound the branch family to their servitude of the main family. These were the key-most secret to the Hyuuga clan's power, the Hyuuga Sōke no Juinjutsu, did her father expect Naruto to use it on her and Hanabi?

No... anyone that even remotely knew Naruto could tell he would never use such a seal on a person. Then what could her father possibly give it to Naruto for? Was there something Naruto could do that her father couldn't?

If her eyes weren't already nearly the size of dinner plates, they would have widened even further as she realized that there was something Naruto could do that no Hyuuga would be able to. He could destroy the scrolls themselves.

Naruto could free the Hyuuga clan.

It had originally been a way to prevent any of the branch family from uprising and destroying the scrolls in a bid for freedom, but it had worked too well and made it so that no person of Hyuuga blood could destroy the papers. And even if there was sentiment to remove the seal from use in the clan, there was a group in power that prevented it. The Elder clan of Hyuuga Masters had blocked every attempt to abolish the seals by a clan head, but Naruto being outside and superior to the clan meant that he could act without the councils approval.

"Take these scrolls Hinata and give them to the one you love... Explain to him exactly what they are, and why I have chosen to entrust them to his care..." Hiashi ordered, folding her hands around the scrolls calmly. The smile was gone now, instead was another expression that she had never seen on him before, a look of expectation married with extreme confidence in another person to fulfill them.

Hinata bowed quietly as she tucked the scrolls close to her heart, holding them tightly as though to say that she would never part with them. "I will Father..."

"Good, now tell me about the man that has captured your hearts..." Hiashi stated, causing the two sisters to blush furiously, while a reminiscent smile crossed his face. Ah, these two were so much like their mother, rest her soul. "But how about some tea while we talk?"

That night, Naruto wasn't quite sure if he was dreaming or if this really was his Master Space, after all he doubted he could ever fully understand what was going on here. Hinata's submissive spirit was bunny hopping around the room, while a hobbled Kitsune was chasing after her, Flash and Lady were sitting over on the side of the dungeon laughing and enjoying the sight.

"Do I even want to ask?"

"Hello Master Uzumaki," Lady called out, waving him over. "Bunny and Kitsune were both looking like they could use a little exercise... so we decided to have them play a game of catcher and prey."

"Does the predator get to eat the prey if she catches her?" Naruto asked while the newly named Bunny managed to spring free at the last minute from a dive of Kitsune's designed to trip her up. Instead she gained several minutes worth of time to separate herself from her chaser.

If either of the submissive animals heard them, they gave no indication, nor did they seem particularly interested in anything but their game. Even as he watched, Kitsune pushed herself up and began hobbling after the elusive Bunny again.

"You know... we never stated either way..." Lady mused while leaning back against the wall casually, and Flash mimicked her move for move. He really wished he could see their faces behind those masks, since he was nearly entirely certain that they were smirking behind them.

"It would be a nice reward... But wouldn't it be better for the victor to get the reward?" Flash asked calmly.

"Ah... how does Bunny win?" Naruto asked, taking up a place next to the others as he watched Bunny lead Kitsune into a wall, and then hop away with a snicker as Kitsune pries herself off of the wall. The slight indent in the wall slowly reformed itself into a solid wall, and it seemed that Kitsune was no worse for the hit either, judging by her growling and persistence. Subtly he reached back and pushed against the wall, finding that it felt just like padding.

"We changed the walls to prevent them from hurting themselves, as for how Bunny wins... well we have set up a time limit for which Kitsune has to catch Bunny by. There's about two minutes left..." Flash explained while Kitsune continued to chase after Bunny.

Naruto relaxed to watch the two in their intricate game of Fox and Bunny, his mind drifting away from worries he'd held since he'd been given the scrolls by Hinata earlier that day. He had a lot of power over the Hyuuga clan, and yet he didn't even want to consider using it. It wasn't the guild's way to have such control over a person, but because it was in place before the guild arose, it had been grandfathered in.

Closing his eyes, he sighed heavily as his mind locked onto the matter of the scrolls. They were such a heavy burden he wanted to just torch them and be done with it. But if he did that, he'd be destroying a priceless gift that Hiashi had entrusted to him. Priceless and in the same breath utterly worthless.

A shrill whistle from Lady alerted him to the end of the match, with Bunny hopping victory circles around Kitsune that was slumped down on her knees in defeat. Smiling warmly he clapped his hands at her sport, before an idea claimed his mind. "Bunny, come here a moment..."

As she bounced over, he couldn't help but idly wonder if she realized just what an effect her motions had on the carrot he had for her. Pulling her down onto his lap with a little squeak from the bound girl, he smiled as his hands began tracing tiny circles on her stomach, earning him soft moans of pleasure from her. Oh yeah, this was definitely a way to get his mind off matters. "Kitsune... come and eat some bunny..." he ordered with a playful smirk as he used his legs to capture Bunny's trapping her into position.

The cute little moans and squirming of Bunny made him give off a wicked little smile as he heard the chuckles of amusement from the two other dominating entities in his mind. It was time for him to finally have some fun with his little submissive collection.

As he woke up, something that Lady had suggested while he was enjoying the activities of his two wonderful girls. If he could just figure out the proper seals, he'd be able to bring out Lady and Kitsune into his dungeon. It would be something to look into, maybe those scrolls his parents had left him would have an answer.

Thinking of scrolls, brought about the realization that he'd completely forgotten to get an answer about the scrolls that Hiashi had left for him. Maybe a talk with Hinata was in order, Hanabi, Haku, and Tenten might have suggestions.

In an office several floors below where Naruto was waking up, two people were discussing the plans for the future. "You told him?"

"Yes Supreme-master... he has agreed to fight for my contract should he face the Uchiha," the second one answered, revealing his silver hair as he watched the old man curiously. This was a truly risky maneuver, but the reward was going to be very much worth it. "I know it was my idea... but are you sure he'll be able to do it? Win that is..."

The first let out a dark little chuckle as he turned back, pulling the pipe from his mouth. "Oh, I am wondering about the end result my dear Lord-Master... but it is more what shape the Uchiha is going to be in..."

A truly evil smile spread over his face as he stepped in front of the fire, "Personally I'd prefer 'pretzel' or maybe 'hogtied' would be better... the child needs to realize that he can only become a master by being the best, not by using shortcuts. If it wasn't for the council, he would have washed out of the program within the first month of the academy."

"Yes Supreme-master..." the subordinate answered with a frown as he considered exactly what the first month had entailed. If there had been any other Uchiha available at all, Sasuke would have been stored in the dungeons under the Stone Monolith for his failures in the first weeks. Even now the boy was a menace to the term 'Master', turning his parts of the Monolith from a dungeon of the elite, to a place of torment and horror that only the strongest could possibly survive.

The superior master turned away from his junior and sighed heavily, his mind flashing back to the largest offense that Sasuke had managed to get away with. He had taken a vast majority of his fangirls and led them into his dungeons, promising them that he'd bring someone to show them what exactly would be expected of them should they be accepted. Two days of no food or water later, the little bastard unleashed a group of mercenaries on the girls to rape them. Before the guild could react the girls suddenly vanished and Sasuke wouldn't say a word about them, save when he went to the bank a few days later and deposited one ryuu per girl into his account.

While the guild couldn't find any direct links to wrong doing by the surviving Uchiha, everyone knew that the boy had sold them off dirt cheap. The guild has been keeping an eye on him, and makes certain that his slaves were alive and well every day, but they couldn't find closure for the families that were missing their daughters.

"Do you know what will happen if others pursue the path that our 'genius' Hyuuga and Uchiha masters are going down?" the Supreme-master asked while turning away from the fire to settle down on a chair. "Konoha will be nothing but a broken shell of our current glory, and so far only a few carefully placed Justicars have prevented that fate. Could you imagine what would happen if they had their torture happy way? They would abolish the guild, and start destroying everything people have built throughout the generations."

"I know Supreme-master, but we are working to prevent that," Kakashi answered calmly while inside terror was gripping his heart. As bad as his memories of being at the judgenatrix's tender mercies were, the thought of what would happen without them around was far worse.

"What would happen if Naruto should lose?" Kakashi asked, as the lights finally returned.

"Oh good, they replaced the fuse..." Sarutobi mused before turning to face Kakashi again. "If Naruto should lose, we are lost."


	18. Chapter 18

There was many things you could say about Sasuke Uchiha, not many of them were nice, and even fewer of them were true. However, there was one fact that absolutely no one could dispute and that was that he refused to believe that anyone could be a better master than he. And so it should have came as no surprise when Naruto woke up the first morning of the trials with an official challenge to a Master's Duel being issued for later that afternoon.

Naruto sent back a reply with his terms mere seconds later, having had them prepared the night after Kakashi had mentioned the challenging of Sasuke. A release of all Sasuke's slaves and any clan contracts he might have, against him gaining Naruto's slaves, the Hyuuga clan's holdings, and Naruto himself. There was little to no chance that Sasuke would refuse, and hopefully he would have the official scheduled match time.

Slipping out of his warm, comfortable bed, he padded his way sleepily over to his office to begin the day. Accepting the cup of ramen from the slave stationed there, he sat down to begin reading over the forms, only to realize two things. One, until today not a single slave had gotten up before he had.

Two, he had told the slaves to stay out of his office until further notice. Setting down the untouched cup of ambrosia, he slowly turned his head so he could look at the slave that had given him the delicious smelling noodle and broth combination.

The purple haired girl stared back at him with her brownish eyes, carefully schooled into an impassible face that made it difficult to read her emotions. The glasses were a cute touch, but what really caught Naruto's attention was the fact that she was wearing a black jacket with some sort of blue collar and a matching skirt. It was a very nice outfit to be sure, but it seemed like it would fit better at a school.

It was about this time that his sleep besieged brain finally made the connection to the scroll he'd read a while back. His new office slave's name came slowly to his mind, and even slower to his mouth. "Yuki Nagato?"

"Yes Master Naruto Uzumaki? How may this one assist you?" Nagato asked in a precise, if not just a bit unemotional voice. This triggered another of those slow memory fires, in which he remembered what exactly the poor girl had gone through to get her to this point. Kidnapped from on her way home from some school, watching several of her classmates raped and killed in front of her, and then tormented in more cruel and insidious ways until she was freed when Naruto and crew took out Gato.

It seemed that the only time she'd shown emotions was a small little smile she had when she heard the news of Gato's capture, and the immediate asking to be placed in Naruto's slave list.

"I'm just a bit surprised that you're here already..." Naruto started while rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and realizing that for the first time since he moved in there was no paperwork for him to sift through on his desk.

"Supreme Master Hiruzen Sarutobi suggested that I should come here right away when I arrived earlier this morning," Yuki answered as though announcing the weather for the day. "This one sent out your reply to Master Sasuke Uchiha, and is currently awaiting the announcement from the Judgenatrix Guild in regards to the time of the duel. This one would advise you to remain guarded until after you have faced Master Sasuke Uchiha in combat, as his attitude and history show a slight suggestion that he would not submit to the Judgenatrix Guild's ruling without being forced to do so."

"Further, you have received a letter of submission from the Aburame Clan, due to your gaining of the Hyuuga Clan's seats and votes. They would also like to inquire as to whether you would like for one of their younger members, one Shino Aburame, to serve as an advisor on how best to utilize their intelligence gathering skills. This one would advise to consider this offer, as the Aburame clan values honesty and their hive structure requires a member at the top serving the Queen function as it were," Yuki continued, causing Naruto to wonder just how little she needed to breathe. Another thing that ran through his sleep befuddled mind was that she didn't blink, and it was causing his own eyes to dry out in sympathy.

"Finally, the Akimichi clan sent up a gift basket of their finest products for your sampling, with Chouji Akimichi asking for you to meet him in a ramen eating contest sometime in the next few weeks. It would seem that they are confident in your victory over Master Sasuke Uchiha, as they are talking about making proposals of a mutually beneficial nature while this one was still within hearing distance. This one took the liberty to research into that clan's history, and discovered that they had lost their holdings within the Stone Monolith of Konohagakure in a bad business deal that had gone afoul due to suspicious reasons. While Master Sasuke Uchiha owns the title of the Ninth Floor, Supreme Master Hiruzen Sarutobi is withholding his assumption of ownership until such time as he attains the rank of Lord Master or better. Unofficially this one believes that Supreme Master Hiruzen Sarutobi is withholding the ownership due to the improper business proceedings, and will only cede control to one that would follow the Akimichi clan's wishes for how it is to be utilized."

It took Naruto a full minute to process the deluge of information that had sprang forth from Yuki's mouth, and by then he noticed that she was watching him as though awaiting some order to continue or another task to do. "Thank you Yuki... have a seat somewhere comfortable and we'll talk about your duties here."

Now Naruto had prided himself on a few things growing up. One of which was that he could hear, smell, and almost feel the location of people around him with great ease. It was one of the things that had made growing up without a family a little easier, since the people chasing after him could never tell how he avoided them. And in the simple act of her striding past in front of his desk, the pride Naruto had in his sense of hearing took a heavy blow. He couldn't hear a single thing as she moved, even as he strained his hardest.

While Naruto was working with Yuki about her integration into the staff of the dungeons, a pair of Hyuuga girls, a weapon fetishist, and a former Justicar were waking up to find their favorite breakfast foods waiting for them beside their beds. It would seem that Yuki was rather swift about her duties, and considered the lack of kitchen staff an oversight for herself to correct. How she figured out what everyone liked was a bit of a mystery, but they weren't about to start complaining.

Down in his true offices, Hiruzen Sarutobi sipped some tea from the pot that Yuki had prepared before he'd awoken to find her waiting like a statue in his office. There were several things that he'd learned in those first few minutes. One of them wasn't how he'd not heard her come in, the heart attack she'd caused in doing so however was.

With her had arrived a stack of documents from the Guild that caused any lingering thoughts of returning to the land of dreams to fly out the windows. It seemed that the resistance movement that Kakashi and Naruto had unearthed in Wave ran a bit deeper than many others had considered. The current 'supreme master' of Water was in league with them, and sheltering them from both the Guild and the other forces that could claim jurisdiction over them. This meant that all their activities were basically justified, and no outside force could pursue them without causing another war.

With how the peace treaties and pacts were currently designed, the best they could hope for was a complete lock up of all trade and business. The worst was a war that would most likely wipe out every nation, and cause the anti-guild factions more than enough leverage to win.

Even worse, the lock-up would still occur during the war, causing the worst kind of thing to happen. The resulting embargo would tie up the Land of Water in a pretty little bow for the highest bidder to swoop in and take. Pulling out his pipe, he took a deep pull before letting the smoke drift towards the ceiling in a lazy circle.

With the Master Trials occurring in Konoha this year, he couldn't afford to do much planning outside of the Trials, thanks to the sheer amount of rules and regulations he had to ensure were being followed.

The last time someone forgot a small regulation during the Trials, it caused a ten-year war that caused the Guild to seize four countries for nearly a year. He didn't want a repeat of that fiasco, as Konoha had barely escaped being taken by the Guild due to being a major supporter and revealing a sub-plot against the Guild by another nation.

Hoping against his own instincts, he prayed that the rumors of ROOT continuing to be around were as false as he'd been promising. The fact that they had been dissolved had gone a long way to prevent them from being co-opted by the Guild.

There wasn't much wrong with being under the Guild's control, save that they were thousands of times more severe in their enforcement of the laws and tenants than most of the Supreme Masters could be. There were rumors they openly sold people who ignored their laws, and that was one of the nicer rumors.

As he looked over the reports he'd been given this morning, he knew that they'd have to act, and decisively at that to prevent Water from being an even bigger headache in the long run. The Aburame clan had sent representatives to work with the Guild on their infiltration and observation plans, and had unveiled at least two curious facts.

The 'supreme master' of Water was little more of a puppet of his former self, seeming to let the three-tailed demon inside of him run the show. This was important to him since Naruto was another demon container, and would likely be brought up several times during the political meetings that ran the war, for there was no avoidance of such actions. He could only pray that the boy was ready for the tasks that would be asked of him.

The second was that the leader of the pro-guild rebellion was in fact a former pupil of the demon container. This could be vital to making the war short and tactically clean, but he could only hope that Konohagakure wouldn't be the host to several more 'refugee slaves' since Wave's were already straining their resources. And sometimes 'refugee slave' was another word for 'Reassigned leadership', but the worst was when it equaled 'Broken'.

It seemed that the slaves from Wave, while most of them were able to be retrained or freed, a good chunk of them would be spending a lot of time in the mental health facilities. The Guild would eventually pay for their stays and care. Eventually.

For now however, he had to focus on the problems facing him about the Master Trial's currently going on. Already there where three Official Master Duels request submitted, and each one contained one Naruto Uzumaki. Two of which he would have to send for Naruto's verification on, but the third was set for later this day.

Sasuke Uchiha had apparently wasted no time in setting up his little duel, and a variety of reasons caused Hiruzen to assume the boy hadn't read the terms Naruto had returned with. The biggest was that he doubted Sasuke was willing to lose all of his properties like he'd signed off on. Well all of them save his clan's dungeons at the Stone Monolith.

Another puff of smoke from his pipe, and he felt the tension leaving him. There was one final report, and it was the most promising of the lot. The monthly reviews of all active Masters and Mistresses under him were in, and that meant he could see if his own estimates of potentials for promotion matched up with theirs.

Off the bat, he noted a minor discrepancies in the reviews. It would seem that the reports from his own people varied wildly about one Master Naruto Uzumaki. Some claimed that he was a hidden prodigy, the next would claim him a liar and fraud, before another would claim that he violated the rules of the guild, and yet one more would say that they needed more young Masters that worked within the rules like Naruto had.

A look at Danzo's notations showed that the one-eyed man wanted to take the boy under his wing as an apprentice, if he wasn't currently under someone else. And that caused a devious smirk to spread over the old Supreme Master's face. He knew exactly what Danzo had planned should he win over the boy, but he was officially listed as Hiruzen's apprentice under the highest levels of secrecy available.

What that meant was aside from himself, only Naruto and anyone Supreme Master or higher could learn about it. So really, there wasn't anyone in Konoha that could know. Even if they did, they would be captured for learning secrets beyond what they should and given over to either Hiruzen or kept in the Justicars' complex.

However, it also meant that he couldn't just lock out Danzo, since to do that he'd have to reveal his own role as Naruto's teacher. To do that would cause the council to raise hell at him playing favorites.

Being the theoretical dictator of a village was nice and all, however the council had taken steps to ensure that they would retain their marginal control they'd gained during the short gap between Minato's death, and Sarutobi's re-assumption of the mantel. They'd managed to passed many laws that moved them from being an advisory board to a nuisance to running things.

Maybe it was time to stop playing nice with them, and start throwing his weight as the Supreme Master around a bit more. They'd done so much to get in the way of the things he wanted to do to improve the village, and the rights of the submissives in the care of their masters that had been completely and utterly defeated by their petty infighting and squabbling.

The only thing that could unite them seemed to be putting a stop to his attempts to exert his authority over them. Why couldn't they just see that he was trying to make life better for everyone involved? Why were they all thinking that some man who declared war against the guild in all his actions would make life better so often?

Something wasn't right about it, but he couldn't do anything. Or could he? He couldn't touch the council officially, but... in an unofficial capacity... or through another...

Pulling out a scroll he smiled as he remembered that Danzo's request for Naruto to be his apprentice required being addressed. A simple no just wouldn't do for him right now, oh no, he demanded so much more to be done.

Instead of penning a message to Danzo, he wrote up a summons for the entire council. It was time to throw some weight around and really raise some hell with the council. They wanted to impress the guild during the trials, it is time to show them exactly how they would dance so that happened.

One more request to the Chief Judgenatrix later, he was starting to truly enjoy the shape of the plans that were forming. He found an odd urge to cackle manically after getting to this point, but no, he had to restrain it and prepare to act in the shadows. First he had to blindfold the council, and the perfect tool to do so was just about to occur later today. Sasuke's first master's duel was generating a lot of craze among his fanbase, of which the council could probably count as a huge portion of it.

Several hours later it was time for the duel, and it was a large production if ever there was one. The two masters stood at the opposite ends of a wooded plain, wearing only a pair of tight leather pants each, their scrolls and such were kept in series of storage seals sewn into the pants themselves.

After the brief run down of the rules, and how to unseal things from their pants, the two masters were given a few minutes to prepare themselves for the duel. Naruto decided to choose what tool he knew, rather than attempt to pull out some fancy trick. That meant a few chain nets, the bullwhip, smoke and stink bombs went into the seals. The only thing he was going to keep out was a pair of specially crafted bolas, which while he didn't expect to trip up the arrogant prick, would at least foil some of the things he saw the rich bastard packing away.

Nodding his readiness to the Judgenatrix, he stood on the spot she designated, getting coated in some sort of oil that was supposed to keep the sun from burning their skin during combat, and make them a bit slipperier.

While he was waiting for Sasuke to get ready, Naruto took the opportunity to look around at the 'stage' being set up for the entire ordeal. There was no better way to describe it as anything but a stage. First there were stands already filling with people, and then there were video cameras to catch all the action from multiple angles. Finally there was the fact that the entire area was ringed by enough Judgenatrixes and Justicars to make even the most fanatical of assaults pause.

It was a show of force, more than anything else. The proclaimed top of the graduating class, versus the lowest of the low, who had turned everything around with one fateful mission. The underdog versus the top dog, a classic grudge match if ever there was one, and to think that was before the wagers were made public.

Watching Sasuke finish his preparation, Naruto wondered how the black-haired jerk thought he would ever need all of those tools he was packing away. Naruto couldn't even think of a way to remember the location of everything. That would cause a lot of problems if he grabbed the wrong tool in a moment of need.

It took the Uchiha survivor another three full minutes before he was ready to be oiled up, and by then Naruto already had a battle plan in mind. Sasuke would go on the offensive, launching with his strongest attacks in an attempt to overwhelm him, and would end up tiring quickly, instead of feeling him out for a few minutes.

The Judgenatrix walked into the center of the dueling area, and raised her hand into the air, drawing silence from the entire area at once. "Ladies and gentlemen, we the Guild welcome you to this, the first match of the Masters Trials. We have a challenge match between Master Uzumaki and Master Uchiha," she spoke, causing Naruto to grin as Sasuke grit his teeth. Being listed first meant that Naruto was the higher ranking Master of the two of them, and that just had to rub salt into Sasuke's wounded pride.

"This match is officially sanctioned by the guild, and should any interfere, they will face the full reprisal that we can bear," the Judgenatrix with a red mask continued as she turned to looked the two masters in turn. "Master Uzumaki, are you ready?"

Naruto gave her a slight bow at the waist, with his right fist crossing his chest to rest against his left shoulder. It was the proper salute answer, marred only by his shining eyes and devil's own smirk. He was supposed to have his features completely schooled, but he'd never been too good at doing that. not that any but the greatest sticklers of the code would consider calling him on it.

"Master Uchiha, are you ready?" the woman asked, turning to regard the lower ranked master, getting a tense, teeth clenched bow in return from him. Ooo anger, that was never a good thing for a master to show, and the murmuring of the crowd seemed to echo that sentiment. "As both masters are prepared, let us begin this match!"

The cheers of the crowd was deafening as the two Masters faced each other across the distance, eyeing each other up silently as they readied for combat. A count of three ticked down, echoed by the crowd as they were eager to see the battle.

At zero, they all let out a scream to announce the start signal.

Just as expected, Sasuke charged in, pulling out a bo-staff for his first weapon. Just as he swung his staff in to attack, Naruto swing up one of the bolas to deflect it. Springing back, Naruto yanked the weapon out of Sasuke's hand, somehow sending him sprawling on the ground face-first.

Next, he fell back from the prone form of his opponent, clearing his bola from the staff that was currently tangled inside it. He didn't want to let this battle be over too quickly, and besides Sasuke was getting angrier with every passing moment. Angry people make mistakes.

Sasuke pulled out another tool, this time it was a catcher collar, the stick and rope loop would make things a little more interesting. It would give Sasuke a bit of reach, and still be able to ensnare him. Unlike the staff.

Fortunately for Naruto, the genius couldn't focus enough to use it properly. He instead slashed through the air at the blond blindly rather than grabbing at the extremities or head. Diving under one slash from Sasuke, he flicked out his defensive bola at the prick's knees getting him to hop back.

Pressing the attack, Naruto kept the lower ranked master on the defensive, since he was already beginning to shows signs of being tired. His aim was off by inches, his swing was slowing down, and he seemed to be getting angrier with each miss. "What's the matter Sasuke? Didn't sleep well?" Naruto taunted as he batted the catcher loop away with one of the chains from the bolas.

"Shut up dobe, I will defeat you!" the Uchiha proclaimed with a lot of venom in his voice. He picked up the speed on his strikes, but only succeeded in increasing the number of times he missed.

How exactly had he been the best of the group? Oh right, the written exams were weighted to be worth more than the practicals. And half the time, Naruto found himself being given oddly more difficult exams, that he barely passed if at all, if he believed what Hinata had told him. Which he did, but he also knew that the guild would require him to provide the burden of proof.

There was just something wrong with how the Uchiha was performing today, since the dark-haired avenger should have at least landed a blow on him. Maybe it was time to piss him off a little more. "What's the matter, stayed up all night stroking off to your dreams of bringing your brother back as your slave? What was his name? Itachi?"

Oh that seemed to have pissed him off, as suddenly the boy's eyes shot into a blood red hue with a single black comma mark floating around the central pupil. "What's the matter Sasu-chan? Did I strike a nerve? Do you think he'll call you otouto-chan again?"

It was too easy sometimes to tease him, the rest of the times it was just simply easy instead. This was one of those first times. Baiting him into doing more idiotic and wasteful stunts like trying to do a diving capture of Naruto, which the blond just leaped over him. Naruto's landing could have been a bit more graceful, what with landing on Sasuke instead of the ground and all.

That cracking sound couldn't have been good, after all. Nor could that amount of swearing that Sasuke was screaming out. Naruto really hoped that it wasn't anything that would be important later on. Well, he'd not landed with his knee in between his legs...

The proctor he'd done that with once had sworn a blood feud against him almost for that, but the injury hadn't been serious, so the man had just been out of action for a couple of days. There were a few other circumstances at play here, but they weren't all that relevant right now. Getting off the cussing boy, Naruto gave him a few minutes to recover instead of capturing him as was his right.

Really it just wasn't right for him to do that, and... well the people wanted a show. "Good to go?" Naruto asked after a few minutes, getting bored with hearing the stream of cursing coming from the Uchiha. The Judgenatrixes seemed to agree with him, as they were watching the display with apparent boredom, at least that's what Naruto thought it was, it was hard to tell with the masks in place.

Instead of calling off the match, Sasuke pulled himself up and used the catcher to hold himself up. "I will not lose..." the boy growled hotly as he pulled another tool out of his seals. This one was a nine-lash leather flail, that Sasuke lashed out at Naruto. Instead of leaping back as expected, the blond dove under its reach lashing out with his bola at Sasuke's mid-section instead of the weakened legs.

He wasn't entirely sure why he didn't go for the easy win, but it just didn't seem his way. Instead he was working to wear Sasuke into the ground. Well, it was true that the survivor had pissed him off while he was in the academy, but ninety percent of the world did that.

Seeing the Judgenatrix that had seemed to enjoy a personal interest in his development signalling for him to hurry up, he decided to make his move. One quick activation of a seal later, and he had the slave storage scroll in hand. Seconds later, the scroll was unraveled and hitting the avenger in the chest.

Pulling himself up from the stance he'd taken to deploy the scroll he looked at it with a frown. Something just didn't add up in his head, why wasn't Sasuke more of a challenge?

"Winner Master Uzumaki!" the lead Judgenatrix proclaimed as she walked out into the dueling area. As she approached Naruto with her hand held out to accept the scroll. "I will ensure that he is taken to the hospital, where he will be released and treated."

"Thank you High Judgenatrix," Naruto answered, barely noticing the rank emblem on her left breast. Handing over the scroll, he watched as she tucked it away securely on her belt.

"You are most welcome Master Uzumaki, your winnings will be transferred over before the end of the day," the High Judgenatrix offered while looking over the gathered crowd, that seemed stunned into silence. "Go and take a rest. You've earned it."


	19. Chapter 19

As Naruto retired to his office for the remainder of the day, he suspected that anything could happen, especially with how his duel had just gone. However, the last thing in his mind to see after the upset of the century was a pink-haired girl prostrate before the elevator on his level of the monolith.

What had once been a shining vinyl corset and arm-warmers that zipped at the neck and left her limited cleavage exposed were scuffed and marred but clear signs of beatings and whippings, while the thigh-high boots he could tell, thanks to poorly fitted straps, were cutting in painfully to her legs just above and below the knees. The locked straps around her wrists seemed to be limiting the circulation to her fingers, as they twitched with the low blood flow, and finally the skirt she wore was little more than a massive belt and tattered remains of a vinyl micro-mini skirt. What parts of her flesh weren't covered in the vinyl and leather straps showed old and new bruises warring for exposure, and more than a few cut marks. He suddenly got turned off by the outfit he'd seen for Hinata for a gift, since it was a dark purple version of the hooded dual-purpose outfit Sasuke had clearly misused.

As he gave her leave to look up, he was relieved to see that her face was completely unmarred by Sasuke's cruelties. Until he realized that the rest of the marks could easily be covered up by the matching vinyl poncho, clearly the missing part, since it was similarly damaged, he saw hanging on the wall as he walked into the hallway proper. Signalling for her to follow, he walked into his office, where he found a couple cups of still steaming tea, and a few messages waiting for them. "Sit down on the chair, and have some tea. You obviously want to talk to me, so let's start with a name."

"Y...yes m...master Uzumaki, S...Stupid Slut Sakura k...knows that the duel between her ma... former master Uchiha was influenced by outside influences. Stupid Slut Sakura..." she started, for Naruto to cut her off gently.

"What do you mean 'Stupid Slut'?" Naruto asked softly as he leaned against the desk, trying not to startle the already scared submissive. If she wasn't worse than Hinata could be sometimes, he'd be yelling those words right now.

"It... It is w...what M...Master Uchiha called Stupid Slut Sakura..." Sakura answered with her eyes locked on the cup of tea trembling in her hands. Naruto sighed. She'd clearly been programmed, broken and would be hard to turn into something useful. Plus she'd just wasted him several thousand ryo in a cancelled clothing order.

"M...Master Uzumaki... S...Stupid Slut Sakura would like to challenge Lord Master Shimura for interfering with a Master's duel... but Stupid Slut Sak-" she continued, for Naruto to lightly shush her.

"One, go get those straps adjusted. Two... If you say 'Stupid Slut' one more time, I'll have you wait one more day before I'll listen to your plea," Naruto stated firmly, only for his office slave Yuki to appear at his side, startling the both of them.

"Master, This One can get hold of a properly adjusted version of the Riding Hood suit for Ms. Haruno, and recommend that you do not cancel the ones you already had planned to buy. Properly maintained, they are one of the best ways to show love for a slave," Yuki stated while Naruto barely contained his shock at her sudden appearance, "I am surprised that Master Uchiha would even spend money on one of those suits, since they are incredibly hard to make, and incredibly expensive."

"Stu- Sakura was Master Uchiha's top slave... Master Uchiha... he... he was going to let Stu-Sakura bear his child..." Sakura answered with a whimper as she rubbed the straps with worry, as though fearing they were going to be taken from her.

"Let me guess... The instant he lost, he pulled them to tension, beat you to within a inch of your life and told you that it was your fault?" Yuki guessed, "Is it always your fault when he fails?"

"NO! MASTER UCHIHA WOULD NEVER!" Sakura screamed hotly, tears stinging her eyes painfully. "He loves Sakura, he... it was Lord Master Shimura... because... This one overheard, and tried to stop him..."

"My work is done," Yuki stated impassively as she set out a box of tissues and then seemed to vanish into thin air. Naruto once again swore he was going to put bells on every inch of her one of these days, but he'd got part of the truth out of her questions.

"Master Uzumaki, please sponsor this one in a fight against Lord Master Shimura... it is all I can think to do to avenge my Master," Sakura pleaded for Naruto to look thoughtful.

"On two conditions... You will tell Master Uchiha I wish to claim your collar. If he doesn't come to claim it in 7 days, you will work for me until you have paid off the repair or replacement of your outfit," Naruto started, causing the pink haired girl to look panicked at the thought of not only losing her master, but also the first outfit he had given her, "If he comes in the week, and does what I ask of him, I will sponsor you."

"M...Master Uzumaki... M...Master w...would be displeased with this one going to the guild..." Sakura explained haltingly, as she looked at the ground. "He... he is going to hate this one... if he knew she came to you."

Naruto cupped her chin in his hand, slowly turning her head to look him in his gentle face, "If I'm right about him, he'll be furious, he'll be angry, but, well, you will not be hated..." Naruto explained calmingly. This was a gamble. He was effectively testing the loyalty of a Master to his slave, and this wasn't something any old master did.

Back by the elevator, Sarutobi smirked as a Judgeantrix stood in silent judgement over the actions of the young man she'd taken an interest in. "Exactly what I'd have done when I was younger." Sarutobi stated with a small smirk on his face, "If Sasuke doesn't come to his maiden's aid, he loses her. Turns him into the gallant hero, and the beating and destroyed outfit will be forgotten."

"That is why he is getting his promotion. Even if he doesn't know it, he's already doing things that a Grand Master Of The Guild would be doing in this situation," the Judgeantrix answered in response, "Well, he can't let her go, since that would achieve nothing. Save perhaps her death... While this gives, instead, Sasuke's redemption, as he gets one slave who will never leave him again."

"For being anti-guild he is not nearly as cruel as he is made out to be... apparently he was furious when his slaves were raped and beaten back at the beginning of his career. He didn't give Sakura her name by choice for example..." Sarutobi mentioned, puffing on his pipe, "Something to do with lending them out to Lord Master Shimura... By the way, have you got the last name of the submissive known as Tenten?"

"Yes, it's-" the Judgenatrix started, only for Yuki to walk up with a drink for them both, cutting her off, "I think we should be going..."

'How does she do that?' Sarutobi mused as he and the Judgenatrix took their drinks and bowed their parting. It was hard to do anything in Naruto's dungeon without Yuki silently walking up or just being there already... and she was definitely NOT a ninja. He had met a few of them, as the Intelligence branch employed a few, and each of them were noisier than her.

Back with Naruto, he'd finally gotten the pink haired girl to calm down enough to continue their conversation. "The second condition is simple, you will train under my slaves for the entire time until your battle. I will not have you enter a fight, only to be completely destroyed in the opening blows."

A couple hours later, when Sakura's message finally reached Sasuke, his thoughts began racing. As of this moment, he only had two slaves that had returned to him, two loyal slaves that he had gone to great lengths to protect from what Lord Master Shimura laughingly called 'training'. Ino had returned within the half-hour of his defeat, accepting her collar back on the condition that she would leave should he fall back into dishonorable practices. The other had been a girl that Sakura had taken under her wing, and to be honest, he couldn't figure out why she seemed so lost and distracted without the pink-haired girl around.

Had the head-slave really been that vital to keeping his slaves efficient and happy? What was this strange lonely feeling in his heart at the thought of losing her forever?

Putting his head in his hands, he wondered what the hell he'd been thinking in not only entering the duel in such a state, but also wagering nearly everything he had on it. Was his pride that much that he couldn't conceive the possibility of defeat, even after spending the entire night before with Lord Master Shimura. Reaching into his pocket, he clasped two of what little he had left in this world. If this wasn't a wake up call, than he should never have been considered a genius.

Hearing the faintest click of heels on the floor behind him, he turned and spotted the Judgenatrix had come as he had requested. This was it. This was going to be the moment in time where he would look back and realize that he had abandoned all his Uchiha philosophies. Taking a knee in front of the imposing faceless woman, he swallowed down the swell of pride and nerves that threatened to choke the very words he was about to speak.

"Judgenatrix... I wish to submit evidence against Lord Master Shimura, in exchange for protection by the Guild of slaves Sakura Haruna, Ino Yamanaka, and Aiko Nym. For too long, the Uchiha clan have been the swords and shields of the anti-guild faction," Sasuke stated quietly, his voice solid with solemness, "I hold no censor for my own actions, and will accept any punishment given."

He could feel her eyes on him, despite the mask, judging and gauging his worth in the eyes of the Guild itself. This was something the he needed to do, he had to protect them. They had tried to protect him, and he had ignored them. One of many failings that he'd given into at the encouragement of Lord Master Shimura.

He only prayed that it wasn't already too late for Sakura, she hadn't returned yet, and he couldn't figure out where else she might have gotten to. That was, until he'd gotten her message from Master Uzumaki's level at the Monolith.

"The guild cannot protect those outside the guild..." the Judgenatrix started, before cutting herself off, while resting a hand against her ear. A moment later she nodded stiffly to him and bade him to go. "We will look into this matter, you have somewhere to be. Leave the evidence here, our agents will retrieve it."

Sasuke blinked slowly as he tried to figure out how she could possibly know that. They had to have some sort of communications system in those hoods they wore. Picking himself up, he avoided looking at the woman that he had humbled himself before. It hurt his pride almost physically to ask for their help after having subverted them for so long.

"And Master Uchiha? Do not make us regret giving you this chance..." the judgenatrix stated coldly before vanishing into thin air. A bit of cold dread settled into Sasuke's stomach as he realized that he had just brushed a fate worse than death.

"Ino... you and Aiko stay here with this evidence, and trust only someone from the Guild or myself," Sasuke ordered firmly, without looking over at the doorway he knew her to be waiting behind. This was the most secure room in the entire Uchiha complex, they would be safe here.

Storming out of the complex, he wondered if he shouldn't have tried to use the Uchiha level of the Stone Monolith, but it was currently in the care of Master Uzumaki, the dead last in the class that had beaten him so soundly.

Pausing at the doorway, he ran his fingers lightly over the marks his mother had used to gauge how he had grown before her death. There were no marks for Naruto's growth after the academy, so he couldn't fault himself for not seeing it. What he could find fault in was he own lack of growth.

That was going to change, he would find Sakura and begin the process to grow. Heaven help anyone that had harmed her.

At the Monolith, he was guided to level thirteen by some male slave that had been stationed near the entrance. After the short trip up the elevator, he was surprised to find a girl in a schoolgirl uniform with glasses on standing at attention in front of the doors. He recognized her as an ofice slave by her greeting of a bowed head while holding a stack of papers he could only guess at. "Welcome Master Uchiha, This One will guide you to Master Uzumaki and slave Sakura," the girl stated simply while indicating for him to continue into the level. "If Master Uchiha will follow This One..."

As she walked, he frowned. There was a layer of thrush on the floor, and she wasn't making so much as a whisper of noise. Whoever this slave was, she was not a normal girl. Either she was exceptionally well trained, or there was something off about her. Either way, it just proved how different a league Naruto was in than him, though he was pained to admit it.

As they approached to the door, he found himself coming face-to-face with a Judgenatrix-in-training who briefly looked at him, before removing her mask and scratched the back of her head, which would have normally been a blasphemous act. "Master Uchiha, we apologize, but we had expected you another hour from now, the meal is not prepared yet.

"This One apologizes, Slave Haku, he was most insistent on coming up here as soon as possible," the office slave that had been acting as a guide answered in turn before indicating that he should continue to follow her. "This One believes that Master Uzumaki will be pleased to see you early Master Uchiha."

Sasuke barely heard the slave's comment, as he was staring at the departing form of Haku incredulously. His memory was suddenly retrieving the information about this particular Judgenatrix-in-training. She had been a fanatical loyal follower of her former master, and that seemed to have transferred over to her new one with the same ease as changing a shirt. It occured to her that he hadn't just been stupid to even think of doing the duel. Just as Sakura had warned him, he'd been too prideful to consider himself ready for the duel.

Sakura... would she still accept him as her master? Did he even deserve it?

He decided that if he ever was accepted back into the Guild, he would support Master Uzumaki with all the power he could muster. There was something special about the boy... no man, that he had faced against the other day to have matured out of the idiot he remembered from their classes together. As powerful an ally as Sasuke knew he was, Naruto would dwarf him in no time at all. Hopefully, their alliance will evolve into a friendship.

What he hadn't expected when he entered the dimly lit office was the usually smiling blond glaring coldly over the desk while a fire back-lit him. "Sasuke, I have one question for you before I take you to see Sakura..." Naruto stated calmly, though the Uchiha survivor could tell it was tasking him to do even that small mercy. "Do you love Sakura?"

"More than I could have ever have imagined..." Sasuke answered after a moment, his voice quiet and solemn. "She is more precious to me than any of the possessions my family had left me. W...When she didn't return, I felt that my heart had vanished, and been replaced by a gaping void."

Sasuke watched calmly as the blond stood up, and walked around his desk to stand in front of him quietly. Then Naruto did the strangest thing he could ever imagine. He gave Sasuke a huge grin and hugged him tightly.

"Let's go to her then," the better master stated warmly with a warmth that seemed a perfect counter to the ice cold tone that he'd been cutting into him with. "You've done many boneheaded mistakes in the past, so let's not make any more. You have something exceptional in Sakura, don't waste it again."

The advice normally would have grated on Sasuke's nerves, however it drew a sense of pride from him. As they neared the door to where he thought Sakura had to be, Naruto turned to him and put his hand on Sasuke's chest. "Before I let you into there, promise me this. You will not go after that jackass Itchi. If you do right by her... the Uchiha clan will never find the doors of the Uzumaki territory closed to them. Together our clans can stop those that would destroy people like Sakura."

Sasuke's nod was all the agreement that Naruto seemed to need before letting Sasuke enter the room alone. What he saw caused his heart to clench, Sakura was laying in a bed wrapped in so many layers of gauze that it was hard to tell where she ended and the bed started. The outfit that she had been given on her first day under him looked like a bear or something similar had been near it. There was several places that showed clear damage that he didn't like the looks of. Most of it would need replacement, and he didn't have any accessible money to do so.

"S... Sakura... what happened?" Sasuke asked, causing the girl to stir and open her eyes. Slowly her head turned so she could look at her former master sadly. After a minute her eyes closed and her head bowed as though awaiting punishment.

"M...Master... Master Uchiha, Stu- This One was beaten by Lord Master Shimura for trying to protect you... This One is sorry she has failed you..." Sakura answered hesitantly as she tried to push herself off the bed to assume the proper position.

Sasuke took her head carefully into his hands, cupping her cheeks tenderly, "Lay still Sakura, you are not my slave right now. And it was me that failed you, can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?"

"Absolutely Master Uchiha, This One forgives you with all her heart," Sakura answered while her eyes turned away, and he could see just a hint of the blush burning into her cheeks. She had been expecting punishment, and here was the man she'd once known as her master back again, asking for her forgiveness.

"One more thing..." Sasuke stated while pulling out one of the objects he'd been holding earlier from his pocket. "Would you be my bride?"

Naruto smiled from outside the room with a small chuckle as he heard the pinkette gasp and squeal happily. It would seem that Sasuke had done his part, and now it was time for him to do his. Pushing off the wall he'd been leaning against, he was surprised once again by Yuki's sudden appearance in front of him. He wondered once again if the Intelligence branch hadn't given her some special training. "Master, This One has just been informed by the Guild that they have sold the floors that were owned by the Uchiha back to their former owners, at half the cost of their original sales."

"This One will be remaining in contact with the new owners, to see about facilitating your plans for the future Master," Yuki continued as she flipped through the papers on the clipboard in her hands. "Also, the Guild has placed Master Uchiha on probation until such time as he gains a new submissive. The Guild recognizes his intended union with former slaves Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno, as that the remaining submissive, Aiko Nym, is to belong to the soon-to-be Mistress Uchiha, Sakura."

If they hadn't trained her, then he might want to see if they wanted her to train some of their agents. "How... But... he... and... HE JUST PROPOSED TO HER NOT A MINUTE AGO!" Naruto shouted, losing his composure. Thankfully he'd done it a few sound dampening rooms away from anyone other than Yuki, and if she was surprised, she certainly didn't show it as she readjusted her glasses.

"The Guild suspected through various rumors that he held onto two rings as the only part of his inheritance for the express purpose of proposing to two women in order to rebuild his clan. The rest has seemingly been misappropriated by Lord Master Shimura, who is currently being investigated for his role in that... and other related matters..." Yuki finished while nodding back the way they had came, indicating not only Sakura but Sasuke as well. "As the slave's challenge would have interfered with their investigation, and her new status as a mistress negates it as well, the Guild sends their sympathies with their rejection. They did say however, that should he survive their 'investigation' and be found innocent, she will be granted first rights to him. Her resubmission for a challenge can be performed in three to four weeks."

"Your duels with Masters Hyuuga and Inuzuka are scheduled for next week and the week following, to give you time to rest and recover from each. If this is unacceptable, This One will inform the Guild thus," Yuki continued as she showed him the official notices from the Guild. "Also, Supreme Master Sarutobi has offered to give you training should you desire such, but may have to defer you to other upper ranked Masters. Master Uchiha currently has one of the Guild's best wedding planners on reservation at their expense, as a welcoming present for his return."

"The official paperwork is being processed, and should be finished in," Yuki started, pausing long enough to glance at the watch attached to the clipboard before continuing. "In about two hours, if you are willing to act as a witness... Supreme Master Sarutobi has suggested that three weeks would be an ideal time for Master Uchiha's wedding.

Naruto smirked. No master ever got married in public unless they wanted to be found. Naruto knew the code... Wedding to happen in 2 hours, public announcement to be done in 3 days when Sakura was healed, high ranked Guild members as congregation. Guests of honor to be Lord Master Danzo Shimura and gue- allies. "I'll be happy to," the blond master offered happily, "May I join the other congregation as well, along with Haku in 'work clothes'?"

"They have suggested that you fill the role of usher, or best man, and protect Sasuke himself. Slave Haku will be receiving her instructions at the marriage certificate signing," Yuki explained swiftly as they entered the waiting room for the slaves. "Is there further This One may do for you Master?"

"Umm... Take a break, and make sure that Sasuke has a chapel reserved for him by the end of the day," Naruto ordered as he tried to digest the sheer load of information, surprised that she actually had to ask that question. She'd never had time to ask for such before now.

"A... break?" Yuki asked uncertainly, looking a little lost. It seemed as though the very concept was completely foreign to her. What surprised him most was that she had slipped from the emotionless tone of voice she'd usually used, and now seemed so insecure and afraid. However, the break in her mask was very brief, and Naruto could almost believe that he had imagined the entire thing.

"Yes Master, I- This One shall follow your orders," Yuki answered, as she fiddled with her clipboard, turning towards the office as though to continue working. That's when Naruto got an idea on how to assert his control over the one girl he could never seem to get a grasp around.

"Hinata, I have an order for you..." Naruto stated loudly and clearly, "You and the girls are to ensure Yuki gets at least 2 hours of breaktime a day, any method, with whichever girl who catches her and gets her to stop doing her job getting their choice of fun with me."

"M...Master! T...This One c...can find something to do... the others do...do not need to..." Yuki stumbled over the words for the first time in Naruto's recollection, causing the young master to grin devilishly.

"They do. You're terrified of taking a break, so your submission to me shall be... At least 2 hours of it a day, enforced by the rest of the dungeon." Naruto said, with a evil grin, "The challenge starts... NOW. The two hours begins when you're having a break."

Yuki squeaked and vanished from view once again, trying to get away from the others as she tried to figure out what to do during the two hours that she was not going to be working. Maybe she could read one of those books she'd gotten from the Guild. They had said that those fantasy novels would be good for her.

Stopping off in her room, she straightened out her sheets, which were 0.9532 centimeters off and grabbed out the first of those novels the Guild had slipped into her single suitcase. As she headed out, Hinata and Tenten were standing by the doorway out, blocking her off. "You have a bed. Read on it, or we'll use one of the cells and train you for your break." Tenten ordered with a challenging smirk as Hinata poked her fingers together.

Looking back at the bed, she realized that she had made the bed perfectly before she left, and that unless someone had been in her room, there was no way it should have moved. She had been played, and was caught by her own perfectionism. Sitting down on the bed, she opened the book and began reading it, her back straight, her legs at perfect ninety degree angles, and the picture of stiffness.

Tenten pulled out several strings of bells, and began placing them at multiple levels across the doorway before leaving with Hinata. Yuki barely took time away from her book to look at the door in contemplation before returning to her book. There was something fascinating about these magic using knights, fighting in secret against corruption of other such knights. She barely even looked up from her book when the bells were removed... nor the report to Naruto of 'Mission Accomplished' from Tenten.

However at precisely 7200 seconds after beginning her break, as though the clock had been wired directly to her brain, she marked her place in the book, placed it neatly on her bedside table, and strode out of her room steadily to go ensure that dinner was nearly completed. She may disagree with the Master about taking a break for two hours a day, but it only felt right that she continued her excellence. After all, those two hours were not going to earn themselves by failing in her duties, nor would the new books purchase themselves.

She had to perform her duties and please her Master, and he would reward her. It was a simple calculation her brain could carry through without fail. After all, these breaks... they did not seem all that undesirable.

* * *

Omake: The Reward

Due to 's restrictions on content posted, the omake is found on my AFF account.


	20. Chapter 20

Due to the recent incidences of mature filter policy being over enforced by certain personages, the author's loss of interest, and recent discussions of restarting the story, this version of Collar will be taken down from this site by September 1, 2012. I would like to apologize for this, and assure you that when the new version is posted online, I will gladly update a link on my profile for those fans that enjoyed it.

I'm sorry to those that loyally followed this story, and hope that you show your love and support to the new story. I will be acting as an advising consultant, and they will be using my notes to build off of. The people that are looking to pick it up are talented writers and I hope they will do wonderful work on it.

Thank you once again for all the support and reviews you've given me.


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